Grief and Renewal by Don Miguel Ruiz

Title: Grief and Renewal; Finding Beauty and Balance in Loss

Authors: Don Miguel Ruiz and Barbara Emrys

Publisher: Urano World

Publication Date: September 25, 2023

Length: 160 Pages

About the Authors
 Don Miguel Ruiz practiced as a surgeon until a near-death experience brought him closer to the traditions of the Toltecs, following in the footsteps of his Mexican ancestors. 
Barbara Emrys is a teacher of the ancient Toltec arts and has co-authored several books with Don Miguel Ruiz.

Dealing with Grief
The authors present a five-part course on the topic of death and loss in the human experience.

• Day 1 - The Reality
• Day 2 - The Reflection
• Day 3 - Grief
• Day 4 - Grace
• Day 5 - The Elegy

My Thoughts

I chose this book because I recently read "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. The four agreements are: Be impeccable with your word, Don't take anything personally, Don't make assumptions, and Always do your best.

This book challenges the reader to think about death, change, and grief in a new way.  Life is the constant process of creation and destruction. We know our lives will end, but we fight the reality of death. We must accept the fact that death does not discriminate; it touches everyone. Death is a natural part of life.

The authors encourage us to discover how our approach to death can inspire a more conscious approach to living. We can be aware of our own eternal and infinite nature. We can appreciate the nature of all living things and how each reflects life differently.

I will revisit this book often as I reflect on my life journey. This book on death and grief is actually about life and living. 

MY RATING - 5 STARS OUT OF FIVE

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an excellent reading experience.

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New Memoir by Christian Writer Philip Yancey

 

Title: Where the Light Fell

Author: Philip Yancey

Publisher: Convergent Books

Publication Date: October 21,2021

Length: 320 Pages

About the Author

Philip Yancey is the author of over thirty books. His books have garnered thirteen Gold Medalion Book awards from Christian publishers and booksellers. 

"I'm a pilgrim, still 'in recovery' from a bad church upbringing, searching for the possibility of a faith rooted in grace instead of fear. I feel overwhelming gratitude that I can make a living writing about the questions that interest me."

Suffering and Grace
This book describes the harsh and turbulent upbringing that Philip Yancey and his brother Marshall experienced at the hands of their widowed, impoverished mother. The mother was a Bible teacher at work and a child abuser at home. The boys were victims of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. They were indoctrinated with the extreme fundamentalist beliefs and culture of several Southern Baptist churches that they attended in Atlanta, Georgia. They were pressured into going to a fundamentalist Bible college after they graduated from high school.

The brothers both rebelled against their dysfunctional family life. Marshall rejected his Christian faith but Philip grew stronger in his faith. Philip found solace in reading, nature, and music. He explored questions about a God of love and grace and wrote about his feelings.

My Thoughts
This book gave me many things to think about. I am sure it was heart-wrenching for Mr. Yancey to go back and relive many of the difficult situations that he wrote about. His writing was brave and I believe he made an honest attempt to uncover the facts of his life as a child and young man.

The author pushed back hard against his mother and the Baptist Church. However, I would not call it "mother-bashing" or "church bashing". He was seeking the truth and I think he found it.

There's an old saying in Texas; "You got to rise above your raisin!". This is exactly what Philip Yancey has done. He became the shining light in his family. He forgave his mother and made many attempts to heal the relationship between his mother and brother. 

There are several incidents of animal abuse/neglect in this book that I found very disturbing.  These incidents involved a kitten, two dogs, and seventeen box turtles. The experiences with the kitten and dogs took place when Philip was very young and had no control over the situations. I think he loved those animals and was traumatized by their deaths/abandonment. I won't comment about the turtles except to say I wish I could unread the words that described their demise.

This is the first book by Philip Yancey that I have read. I am adding some of his books to my reading list. I think this book will mean more to me after I am more familiar with his work. I highly recommend this book to readers who are fans of this author and anyone who wants to expand and grow their faith in Jesus Christ.

MY RATING: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

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Gracenomics

Yesterday I read Gracenomics: Unleash The Power Of Second Chance Living by Mike Foster.  Mr. Foster is founder of "People Of The Second Chance", a movement of people committed to showing unexpected, excessive and scandalous amounts of grace.  The author defines grace as "the act of giving favor when it is not required."  Gracenomics combines this definition of grace with the term "economics".  So,  gracenomics is defined as the science that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of grace.
This is a short, simple book that could easily be read in a couple of hours. Mr. Foster explains that our society has become a "vulture culture".  People love to hear about people who are humiliated and weakened by scandal, addiction and failure.  Not only do other people tear us down, but we also do a pretty good job on ourselves by failing to forgive and move on from mistakes and failures.  The author calls this "chewing on ourselves."  People are often caught up in a victim's mentality and tend to relive the trauma over and over again.  It may be time to escape from Victimville and head on down to Gracetown. Once you accept your failures, you may come to see them less like disasters and more like the driving force behind future successes.
Gracenomics for others is based on adopting this perspective; People are not evil, They are weak. People choose meanness out of impaired vision and skewed understanding.  A reality of the human species is that we love to judge, label and assess value.  Mother Teresa said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."  If we have empathy for others, then grace and forgiveness will prevail.
The last part of this book deals with Gracenomics at work.  Mr. Foster empahsizes the importance of being a good listener.  "Gracenomics says wherever you are, be fully there."  The author cites Zappos as a business that found success by listening to their customers and expressing a caring attitude.  The author believes that accountability and truth must be required of everyone in a leadership position. 
The author invites us to give second chance living a shot.  The world could really use the transforming power of forgiveness and grace. 
The People of the Second Chance have a fan page on Facebook and Mike Foster is on Twitter.
I think this book is definitly worth the time you will spend reading it.  It will open your mind and heart to all kinds of opportunities to give grace a chance.