currently reading

I'm grateful for my friends.
If it weren't for my friend, Nan, I wouldn't be reading this book. It's called KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM and it's by Rachel Remen. The truth is, I remember feeling like being polite and taking the book, but frankly, I wasn't in the mood for some "folksy" kind of wisdom. Well, I misjudged it. [Who says you can't (mis)judge a book by its cover.] So, it sat for weeks until after Christmas and until I finished my current novel. She calls it stories that heal and now that I'm reading these stories, I'm so glad to have them. There is so much insight and so many of them skillfully show me how patience and faith along with the help and support of others, leads us back to ourselves (often attended by her own human impatience and doubt which she so nonchalantly includes in her stories). In one story she says, "We usually look outside of ourselves for heroes and teachers. It has not occurred to most people that they may already be the role model they seek." (p. 106) The stories can't be broken into sound bites without diminishing the impact, but that's okay because they're short; between two and five pages. I want to share this book and have conversations about it, and hear other people's stories or maybe just hear someone else say, "Yes, I get that and I want her to be my best friend too."