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A Language for the Inward Landscape (review)

• Authored by:
• Emily Garrison,
• Rocky Garrison

E.L. Doctorow once said, “Writing is like driving a car at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Reading A Language for the Inward Landscape was a similar self-actualizing experience. Like a coastal sailor navigating through a fog, the reader discovers more about their journey as they take it. The fog lifts, the sailor sees a familiar landmark. By taking a compass bearing on this landmark, the sailor has a better idea of their location: the bearing defines a line and the boat is somewhere on this line. There is a feeling of safety with this bit of clarity. The fog may return, but the sailor proceeds, a bit more confident in their journey.

On Garbage (November 2017)

Collaborators - Review

• Authored by:
• Nancy Wood

Collaborators by Deborah Wheeler

On Patriotism (January 2014)

Approved! (review)

• Authored by:
• Iris Graville

This delightful book by Nancy L. Haines, with illustrations by Anne E.G. Nydam, would be a good addition to any Friends Meeting library. Drawing on the experience of Wellesley Meeting with junior meeting for business, the slim volume offers clear information about Quaker decision-making.

On Captivity (January 2018)

Renewable (review)

• Authored by:
• Gretchen Reinhardt

Intermountain Yearly Meeting’s book of Faith and Practice advises us that Friends’ faith is a living faith; and it provides us with queries, which if held up close, serve as mirrors to our internal “what is” and move us toward action in the world.

On Water (March 2019)

Ulysses (review)

• Authored by:
• Zae Asa Illo

Many Friends are unaware that James Joyce included a Quaker librarian, Lyster, in Ulysses. As the Religious Society of Friends gropes out of its colorless stasis, Ulysses reminds us that Friends carry a cultural presence beyond the confines of minutes, meetings, and social concerns.  Even so, [pullquote]I encourage Friends to read Ulysses not for its utility, but as a brutally honest exploration of our inner condition.[/pullquote]

On Mediation (January 2020)

Everyday Prophets (Review)

• Authored by:
• Stanford Searl

Recently, I read the wonderful 2016 Backhouse Lecture, Everyday Prophets by Margery Post Abbott. I identified with Abbott’s description of everyday prophets as “. . . people who listen to the voice of all that it Holy and follow its guidance” (p. 3). Yet these everyday prophets face challenges, too. “It takes practice to develop the skill of listening with an inward ear and coming to recognize the taste and color of all that it holy . . . Above all, such a person is one who listens inwardly and has learned to distinguish the voice of the Spirit, the presence of Christ, from their own desires or self-will, the pressures of the surrounding culture and the need to win approval from those around them” (pp. 5-6).

On Home (September 2017)

Confusion of Language

• Authored by:
• George McConnell

Genesis tells of the confusing of language while the people of Babylon were building a tower of extreme height. There is evidence of confused communication in modern times. My words apparently do not always convey the same meaning that I had in mind, upon reception by the intended receiver.

On Pride (July 2014)

On Tyranny (review)

• Authored by:
• Forest Preston III

 

On Politics (July 2017)

Coming Home (review)

• Authored by:
• James Summers

 

On Politics (July 2017)

Hiking Naked (review)

• Authored by:
• John Brantingham

Hiking Naked is a memoir that explores ways that Friends in the medical field stretch themselves beyond their emotional limits, and how Iris Graville attempted to bring herself back into balance. Graville is a mother of two, a wife, and a nurse who works for the Health Department in Belleview, Washington. Her job is serious, and the stakes are high for the people in underserved communities she works with, so she gives herself fully to her job – emotionally, physically, and spiritually. By the time we join her, she is dealing with burnout.

On Expansion (May 2018)