Books

Want to read a wonderful story about family, faith, and miracles? Peace Like a River (by Leif Enger) follows eleven-year-old Reuben Land who has asthma and has reason to believe in miracles, his outlaw older brother, his sister, and his father across the country as they look for safety and the chance to be together again. This story has one of the most delightful depictions of heaven I have ever read…when Reuben’s daddy dies and goes to heaven we readers get to see what the father sees. A national bestseller, this book was one of Time Magazine’s Top Five Books of the Year. I loved this book!

My dear friend, Kathi Appelt, multiple award-winning children’s book author has just published a new picture book called The Best Kind of Gift. Set in Tennessee, the story tells about a new parson who has just come to the Dogwood All-Faiths Tabernacle. The members of the church are planning to give the new preacher a “pounding”—a pound of this, a pound of that–as a way to welcome him and his family to the community. The story is about a little boy Jory who doesn’t know what he can take as a gift to this pounding for the new preacher but who finds by the end of the story the perfect thing to give, the Best Kind of Gift! I have bought this book for children and adults alike! One of our close friends, a world-famous novelist, sat at our kitchen counter reading the book and cried when he reached the ending. Read this book anytime you want an uplift! (To make it even better for our family, the parson in the book is named Brother Harper, in honor of my father, Rev. Tommie Harper; and the book is dedicated to the memory of my father and mother, Tommie and Rachel, and to me! This dedication, too, is the best kind of gift!) (more…)

Sometimes advertisements get on our nerves; but once in a while we find something as a result of an ad that we would be so sorry to have missed. This is true for me with Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life, the award-winning non-fiction book by Philip Simmons. It was an advertisement in a national newspaper that first made me aware of this beautiful, inspiring, intelligent book. Philip Simmons was a professor of English and a fiction writer (his stories had appeared in Playboy, Massachusetts Review, and Ploughshares, for example) who became disabled with Lou Gehrig’s disease as a young man. In the 12 chapters of Learning to Fall, Philip “with humor, hard-earned wisdom and a keen eye for life’s lessons—whether drawn from great poetry or visits to the town dump…shares his discovery that even at times of great sorrow we may find profound freedom. And by sharing the wonder of his daily life, he offers us the gift of connecting more deeply and joyously with our own.” You will be uplifted by the beauty of the writing and the wisdom from the heart on every page of this book. (ISBN 0-553-80266-6)

Verena Kast’s work includes 18 books, published in German, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Italian, and English. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich and for nine years was president of the Swiss Association for Analytical Psychology. In this book Joy, Inspiration, and Hope, Verena Kast writes about how joy “answers the human need for elated feeling and meaning in our lives” and offers simple techniques for recapturing our joy through development of an autobiography of joy. She also writes inspiration and hope. One thing I have never forgotten about hope after reading her book is that it is possible to “borrow” hope when one can feel no hope oneself and one can “loan” hope to those who at the moment have no hope. This book was given first as talks at Texas A&M University at the Fay Jung lectures. Texas A&M press publish a softback version of Joy, Inspiration, and Hope (ISBN 1-58544-309-3) (more…)

Every Christmas my Aunt Frances makes the most wonderful candy out of mashed potatoes and peanut butter. This is an old Irish recipe, handed down from family to family for many, many years. I asked Frances last week to write out the recipe, and here is what she gave me. Enjoy!

Irish Potato Candy

Ingredients:

• 1 Irish potato the size of a large egg
• 1 or 2 boxes of confectioner’s sugar (depending on consistency of potato when mashed)
• Peanut butter, smooth or crunchy (more…)

1. Hayley Westenra, a young teenager from New Zealand, has become famous in England for her absolutely clear voice that mesmerizes when you listen to it. Her cd “Pure” is a best-seller and I cannot recommend it too highly. She has sung—at her young age of 16—at Carnegie Hall and the Sidney Opera House. Hayley is a find!

2. Do you know the book Americans’ Favorite Poems edited by Robert Pinsky? I keep my a copy on my bedside tables and often read a poem before I go to sleep. The way the book came about is this: Robert Pinsky invited anybody in the US who wished to do so to send in her or his favorite poem with the reason why the poem was a favorite. Poet Laureate Pinsky then selected the poems (along with the person’s words who submitted the poem) that make up the book. Here is an example: my dear friend Kathi Appelt sent in the poem “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver. Here is part of what Kathi said when she submitted the poem. “I have this poem taped on the wall by my desk and I read it every day, sometimes several times. I make copies of it for friends. I read it to people over the phone. Mostly, I ask myself the question Oliver poses at the end of the poem. I don’t have the answer. I don’t think I need one, but the question itself challenges me to revel in the search.” (more…)

Don’t we all want to begin this month with more peace and serenity? May I recommend two books that will help us achieve this?

First, there is the beautiful little book by Philip Newell called Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayers. So beautifully illustrated that you are blessed if you only look at the pictures and illustrations, this short collection has some of the most beautiful Celtic prayers you will find anywhere. I love Celtic prayers because they are so “earthy,” so related to life as I live it every day. There’s one ancient Celtic prayer about the land that illustrates how the early Irish (and other Celt groups) prayed about everything:

Facing the south for warmth A little stream across its ground A choice plot with abundant boundaries Which would be good for every plant… I will go out to sow the seed, In name of God who gave it growth… (more…)