book club
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A Winter Morning and a Quiet Book This morning I walked the dog in the rain. Southern California rain — the kind that feels almost apologetic, soft and uncertain, like it isn’t quite sure it belongs here. And when I looked up toward the horizon, there was Big Bear, snow-covered and distant and somehow completely…
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At the start of this year, I bought myself a set of plain stationery. Just notecards and envelopes — nothing fancy. I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do with them. Then my Crisis Intervention Training began. For just about sixty-six hours over several weeks, I sat in a room at the Center for Community…
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I just finished Nancy Isenberg’s White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, and I need to be honest: it took me nearly two months to get through. This book was, quite frankly, a slog. There were moments when I had to remind myself why I don’t usually gravitate toward non-fiction—particularly dense, academic non-fiction…
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Can’t focus anymore? You’re not alone. Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus explores why our attention spans are collapsing and what we can do about it. As someone preparing for victim advocacy work while struggling with post-COVID brain fog, I found this book both enlightening and frustrating. Here’s my review—and why reclaiming our focus matters for survivors, advocates, and…
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Content Warning: This review discusses sexual assault, rape, and trauma. As I work toward becoming a certified victim advocate while navigating my own healing journey as a domestic violence survivor, I’ve learned that the stories we need most are rarely the easiest to read. Pagan Kennedy’s The Secret History of the Rape Kit is one of those necessary,…
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A reflection on Katherine May’s “Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age” There’s a quote from Katherine May’s Enchantment that I haven’t been able to shake: “There is no one predator from which to escape; there are many. We are in the business of running now. It is all so urgent. Every year, it seems we must…
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Reflections on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, healing, and the work that sustains us Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day—a day to honor the resilience, sovereignty, and enduring contributions of Native peoples whose wisdom has always been here, waiting for us to listen. As I work toward becoming a victim advocate while healing from my own experiences with…
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Gretchen Rubin’s Life in Five Senses arrived in my hands with a weight of expectation. A certified victim advocate I deeply respect had included it on her recommended reading list, and during one of her trainings, she’d spoken powerfully about how being present in our bodies—truly inhabiting our physical senses—can help us self-soothe and self-regulate our trauma…
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Matthew Haig’s “The Midnight Library” is more than just a novel—it’s a therapeutic journey wrapped in magical realism that speaks directly to anyone who has ever felt trapped by their choices, overwhelmed by regret, or struggled with depression and anxiety. As someone who has openly discussed his own mental health battles, Haig brings an authentic…