2025 Reading Reflections Part III: Faith, Courage, and Understanding Ourselves

 Not all the books I read last year were novels. Some of the books were the kind you read slowly, sometimes a chapter at a time, sometimes just a few pages, because they ask you to sit with an idea for a while. Looking back at my reading list, a small but meaningful category emerged: books about faith, courage, and understanding ourselves a little better.

One that stood out was How We Learn to Be Brave by Marianne Budde. It’s a thoughtful reflection on courage. It’s not the dramatic kind of courage we often imagine, but the quieter kind that most of us are called to in ordinary life. For example, the courage to tell the truth, to stand up for others, to make difficult decisions when there isn’t a clear or comfortable path forward.

Another was Unabashed Faith by C. Andrew Doyle, which explores what it means to live with conviction and humility simultaneously. Faith, at its best, is not about certainty or perfection. It’s about continuing to show up, to serve, and to try to live in a way that reflects what you believe to be good and true.

And then there was Are You Mad at Me? by Meg Josephson. I had first heard the author on The Modern Love podcast by The New York Times. Afterward, I bought the book. This was one of those books that quietly changes the way you see yourself. It puts words to patterns many of us carry, especially the instinct to constantly scan the room for approval, reassurance, or signs that we might have disappointed someone. Reading it felt a little like having someone hand you a vocabulary for things you sensed but hadn’t quite named.

I also picked up Midlife Awakening by Marianne Williamson, on a friend’s advice, which explores the idea that midlife isn’t simply about getting older. Instead, midlife is about becoming more fully yourself. Midlife is that stage of life when you start asking different questions about purpose, meaning, and how you want to spend the years ahead. While I didn’t necessarily like the book in its entirety, it did give me a nugget or two of self-help to reflect on.

What I am trying to say is that these aren’t books you necessarily race through. They’re the kind that sit with you for a while. Maybe that’s the real value of them. They remind us that learning isn’t just something we do in school or when we’re young. It’s something we do our entire lives. Sometimes that learning is through experience, and other times it’s through reflection. And sometimes, that learning comes from a book that helps us recognize ourselves a little more clearly than before.

black ballpen on book
Photo by Tracy Adams on Unsplash

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Years Later: A Reflection

Image
The Last Five Years The last five years have been difficult for me. COVID was part of it, but not the whole story. I know I’m not alone in saying those years were heavy—most of us were carrying grief, uncertainty, and change in ways we never expected. This is just my story, my piece of what those years held. The top photo of me—the one at the very start—is who I am today, and yes, I look different than I did five years ago. But the weight I carry isn’t only physical. The other night, I was on the phone with my mom, talking about how the past five years have been some of the most emotionally challenging of my life. After that call, I scrolled through my friends list to remember some of those I had lost—and I stopped cold. Since 2020, fifteen of my friends have died. Fifteen. Their names and faces came rushing back, and I realized just how much these years have been filled with loss, change, and survival. The second photo—the one just below—was taken the month before COVID shut everythin...
Read more

Small Batch Birthday Cake Blondies

Image
It’s been a while since I baked anything, but then I stumbled across this recipe on King Arthur Flour (or King Arthur Baking) for Small Batch Birthday Blondies . I thought, “Well, it’s August—it’s my birthday! Why not?” Even though my birthday was at the very beginning of the month, I somehow managed to make them on the very last day. Better late than never, right? And honestly, they did not disappoint. I didn’t have the small pan the recipe called for, so I used a 9 x 5” loaf pan instead, and they turned out perfectly. Golden, chewy, and sweet—the perfect little birthday indulgence (because sometimes one day isn’t enough to celebrate). Check out the recipe link above and a picture below—I promise these blondies are worth celebrating any day of the month.
Read more

December

Image
Every year, when the calendar turns to December, something inside me exhales. The world outside seems to dim and hush, but inside—inside my home, inside my chest—things glow a little warmer. Advent has always been my favorite season. I love the idea of waiting, expecting, holding space for what is not yet but is surely on its way. It reminds me of the most sacred waiting of my life: being pregnant with my first child, who arrived nineteen years ago today, on St. Nicholas Day. This morning, I’m writing from the family room, the fireplace quietly humming along, a kitty cat curled near my feet. The Christmas tree is lit, but only with lights—no ornaments yet—and the room feels soft and contemplative in that particular way December knows how to be. Advent does this to me: it slows me down, invites me to notice the small glimmers in the dim places. It’s impossible to sit in this kind of stillness without missing people. December is full of memory. Full of absences. Full of the small ritua...
Read more