The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute

I listened to this book on my way to and from a trip to Casper, Wyoming. It is another book (besides Leadership and Self-Deception) built around C. Terry Warner's powerful take on "I and thou" philosophy articulated back in the day by Martin Buber. Wonderful, powerful ways to think. The book unfolds as a drama where parents are dropping off their teenagers at a "reform" experience out in Nature. It can be annoying as stereotypes unfold, but it is mostly very intriguing and entertaining as the ideas are explained through parental dialogue with the camps' founders.

"Getting in the box" is the way self-deception is described, and the misguided thinking it leads to. There are many "boxes" included in the discussion, and they are universal archetypes. "I'm better than..." and "I know more than..." are two that I related to. There are many others. I need to listen to it again to reconnect with this content. It really helped my thinking and my personal change process.

Ancient Futures by Helena Norberg-Hodge

My great reading buddy Mary lent me this book after sharing it with our book club. I hadn't had a chance to read it, but I enjoyed her enthusiasm for it and borrowed it after our meeting in the park. It is an amazing book that challenged my thinking about helping people in "developing" countries. I have always been skeptical of the negative influence the so-called developed world has on others, but I thought there was a contribution that could be made, or at least an exchange. Now I'm not so sure. This author powerfully describes the destruction of the contentment and health of the Ladakhi people have experienced as they enter the "modern" world. Here's a quote from page 196:

• In the past few decades we have seen a narrowing of vision--in effect, an insidious dumbing down of society--at the same time as economic activity has globalized. As we become further removed from the sources of sustanence and other needs, it becomes increasingly difficult to see our impact on the rest of the world. How do we know that the food we buy hasn't been grown with slave labor, using toxic herbicides and fungicides? Because of the huge scale of the economic system, even those who want to do good can unknowingly participate in activites that have brutal and destructive effects.

And from page 195:

• The so-called global village--hailed by government and industry as uniting all nations in pursuit of the fruits of the global economy--is in fact a highly volatile monoculture based on on community or connection to palce but on universal consumerism.

And from page 194:

• Beyond these widely recognized problems, another crisis is only now beginning to be acknowledged. This is the human suffering--the psychological and spiritual poverty--of people pushed to produce and consume at an ever-accelerating rate. The resulting stress and time pressures are proving almost unbearable...

This book is powerful because the author describes in great detail the life of the Ladakhi people and one can see what a hard and yet satisfying life it is. Then she describes the effects of the developing world on the people in this isolated area and it's heart-rending. In the Afterword, quoted above, she brings it all together in a way that made me wonder at the wisdom of even offering medical care to developing countries. If a life is hard, healthy, and self-sustaining, it doesn't make sense to interfere. She also describes policies that are having a negative effect on these countries. It all reminded me of what I see very close to home--life on our Lakota Indian Reservations.

To me, this is another voice in the cry for more local living in smaller communities. I think of big high schools and how kids are lost there. I think of our urban cities and how people feel lost there. Living in smaller communites with food produced nearby seems to work on so many levels! Another connection I am thinking about is how in my church, we have a built-in mechanism to stay small and local--wards are divided when they get too big, and they are based on geography so one is always with one's closest neighbors. This makes sense!

The Jumping-Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeely

This delightful book is published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press and includes black and white illustrations by William Siegel. It would make a perfect "read aloud" for children from eight or so upwards. It tells the story of four siblings who homestead in South Dakota in the early 1900s. Their challenges are many yet their fortitude and courage are great! This book is based on the actual experiences of the author, which makes it even more interesting to me. The characters are reflective of their time--hard workers and optimistic. I have read this book twice, just because I enjoy where it takes me. I gave a copy to my friend Terri, who has given away additional copies too. This is a keeper; I plan to read it again before too long.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

This book captivated me right from the start! It was one of those books that called to me between chapters and made me want to stay awake to read more. Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader in 1967 and he is hilarious, sensitive, real, and smart. He imagines his teacher, Mrs. Baker,  is at war with him, and details her dirty looks, quotes her, etc. Each chapter is a new month in the school year, and as their relationship develops, you can feel the mutual admiration. It’s wonderful!

Another reason I liked it was the time…people are smoking, Viet Nam War is running in the background, and so are flower children. It’s richly and accurately done!

This is alternately tragic and funny by turns…Holling’s parents, particularly his father, are dolts. They are heartbreaking! But Holling’s ingenuity and independence are developed because of this… There aren’t many books that make me cry real tears, but this one did, in several places. The caring teacher, the heartless parents, the big sister’s problems, the POW arriving home, the love between teacher and student, all were very sweet experiences for me.

One of Mrs. Baker’s tricks is to require Holling to read Shakespeare during their Wednesday afternoons together. He is the only Presbyterian student who doesn’t have to attend either Catholic or Jewish services on Wednesday afternoons. This gives him ample time for private tutoring from Mrs. Baker, and the reader gets a fresh chance to appreciate Shakespeare’s lessons as well. Totally delightful!

I sent this book as an audio gift to Annabee for Christmas this year. I can't wait to see how she likes it! Gabe's fourth grade teacher has it in her classroom collection, but I think it's too sophisticated for him...I wonder if Ann will think it's okay for hers? I really think she'll enjoy it!