The last few weeks have brought about many challenges in the world and in my personal life. America has gone backwards in women’s health care and is way out of whack when it comes to guns. There are other things pressing down on me, too, that have made my day-to-day life a struggle. I mean, I don’t expect life to be all easy but things have been harder than normal lately. I’m feeling less than resilient and more anxious than ever before.

That said, there have been a lot of great things, too. The weather has been great! There have been almost no mosquitos! I have good friends and a wonderful family. I went on a trip to Banff, Canada with my husband, Owen, and two adult kids. We went to see Owen off on a month-long bike ride from Canada to Mexico. While he was riding, I posted updates to Owen’s blog because was out in the wilderness without a computer. Interested in Owen’s bike ride story? You can read about it his Owen’s Epic Rides blog.

These ups and downs in life remind me how much I appreciate being able to educate myself – and escape – through reading. I found a lovely collection of poetry – HOW TO LOVE THE WORLD: POEMS OF GRATITUDE AND HOPE – that has been the perfect book to read when I’ve been feeling low. It’s perfect for anytime, really, because it’s always a fine time to read about gratitude and hope.

One of the reasons I picked up this book is that the forward was written by Ross Gay. Ross is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, a collection of essays titled THE BOOK OF DELIGHTS. I adore that book and wrote a review of it, A Delightful Diversion, some time ago. In addition, the book is one of my Staff Picks at Content Bookstore.

Exciting news! Ross has a new book coming out in October – INCITING JOY – and I just got an advanced copy of it. I can’t wait to read it!

Here’s my mini book review of HOW TO LOVE THE WORLD: POEMS OF GRATITUDE AND HOPE, edited by James Crews

This delightful collection of poems about gratitude and hope is perfect for when I need a pick-me-up. The poems are of beautiful moments, lovely memories, and humorous anecdotes, and are captured in a way that is approachable to readers who, like me, sometimes feel lost when reading poetry. I so love the “Reflective Pause” pages throughout the book which include a short note on some of the poems and an invitation to write something–a poem, an essay, a scribble of delight–for myself or maybe even to share.

Whether you are an avid poetry reader, are new to reading poetry, or are looking for a nice little gift book, it’s well worth checking out HOW TO LOVE THE WORLD. Looking for another lovely book? There’s a new collection also edited by James Crews titled THE PATH TO KINDNESS: POEMS OF CONNECTION AND JOY.

Do you have a favorite poet or poetry book? Please leave a comment to let me know!