User Profile

This medical memoir is as delicate as it is powerful. N. West Moss perfectly captures the heartache of infertility and chronic illness – and the fears, hopes, and frustrations that come with major surgery and its recovery – all with a gentle sense of humor and a lovely way of looking at the world, even the smallest little details. Moss has written this book in very short chapters consisting of beautifully engaging prose, making it difficult to put the book down once you pick it up. I grew to love the people she loves (and a praying mantis!), and felt like I was right there with her each step of the way. What a stunning memoir, and with so many unexpected moments of joy.

Wwhen Algonquin Books sent me a copy of Flesh & Blood for the Instagram tour, they included a little notebook, recipes by @PickYourPotions for basil syrup and hibiscus syrup, and a packet of wildflower seeds. I recently read a book about guerrilla gardening, so I’m excited to put the seeds to unexpected use!

I’ve only ever read Fr. Richard Rohr’s work in audiobook format, but honestly, I need to be buying his books in print so I can underline and put sticky notes everywhere. In Everything Belongs, he explores the radical freedom that comes through believing “that we have no real access to who we really are except in God.”

He discusses how civil religion and cultural Christianity miss a sense of the whole. They’re perfunctory. “The great commandment is not ‘thou shall be right,’ it is ‘be in love.'” When he reminds us that God receives all, he means literally all. Our ego is constantly comparing and dividing. It’s responsible for our dualistic thinking. Our true self—our soul—gives space for all.

I found his thoughts on avoiding groupthink and getting caught up in religious dogma especially inspiring and hopeful. The way our group experiences and knows God it not the only way to experience and know God, and believing it is is idolatry. He warns against playing the power, control, and domination game, no matter what “side” we’re on. He reminds us that our egos will find new ways to be right and moral and superior, so we have to keep that in check.

Activists need to be careful not to become power-seeking and dominating, or they become part of the problem and the movement self-destructs. A transformation of souls must occur in order for a revolution to happen. That desire to control others must be exorcised.

He also brings up the follow point: “Individualism makes church almost impossible. It makes community almost impossible. It makes compassion almost impossible.” Especially when thinking about the way people have responded to the pandemic, I think we can all say we’ve seen how destructive individualism can be.

These are just some of my favorite aspects of this book, but it’s hard to express them briefly enough for review purposes. Rohr’s explanations in the book are very deep and thoughtful, and he ties all his points together in profound ways. Everything Belongs is perfect for anyone who believes, as Rohr puts it: “We need less reformation and more transformation.” 

When I picked up Laziness Does Not Exist, I was expecting a book that counters capitalistic thinking—maybe along the lines of David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs. The opening of the book got my hopes up and I was excited to dig in deep. Instead, this ended up feeling more like a self-help book for people who have economic and class privilege. It focused on fairly privileged people in traditional workplace environments, with suggestions on setting boundaries, having realistic expectations, and avoiding burnout. That’s important stuff for people who are in those environments, but there are so many people working jobs where there is no HR to talk to or negotiate with, where working from home isn’t possible at all, and who can’t afford to turn down work/independent contractor gigs. If you are in any of those categories, especially if you live at or close to the subsistence level, I think you’ll be as frustrated by this book as I was.

I did appreciate Price’s points on information and the internet and social media, about letting go of the need to learn and know everything (and share everything). They talk about how data and information overload is just another type of consumerism, and how that affects society. They mention being thoughtful about the info we share online, as well as the info we gather. Are we really learning something we need, or unnecessarily traumatizing ourselves? How does this impact our mental health?

But overall, the target audience seems to be workaholics and people pleasers with a hefty dose of privilege… not so much those of us barely surviving capitalism. I never got a solid, cohesive feel for “laziness does not exist” because Price mostly ignores a huge chunk of the population. When you’re barely surviving capitalism, there’s a lot of hinting around that you’re in this situation because you aren’t trying hard enough, you aren’t working hard enough—you’re lazy. Laziness Does Not Exist had an opportunity to counter that messaging, but catered to the the bourgeoisie instead.