Victoria EverleighLate again with this Open Book and I’m not even going to shame myself. Let’s get to it and pray that I remember which books I finished. My toddler has already taken over my laptop once while I try to write this, typing away and making characters I’ve never seen appear on the screen!
My non-fiction reads were all related to caring for creation, as this is a theme I’m doing a lot of work with in my day job.
Non-Fiction
The Grace of Enough by Haley Stewart
I had listened to Haley’s podcast (hosted with Christy Izinger) for years before I read this, so I knew I would like it. The book chronicles her family’s journey moving to a sustainable farm with their three kids for a year – and a compost toilet to boot!
I thought it was so inspiring! I loved reading about how they downsized and got rid of SO. MANY. TOYS to move to the farm. I found myself jealous of their minimalist lifestyle. Haley used a lot of quotes from Laudato Si’ (below)
Laudato Si’
This is Pope Francis’ encyclical covering topics of caring for our common home. I’ve thought so much about how I would summarize this important piece of work because I don’t want it to be misconstrued as just a document about the environment.
I think the biggest difference between this and all secular climate activists is that this document approaches creation from the lens of the Creator. We need to tend to the Earth because God made it and He told us to till and to keep it. But to take it a step further, we must see how the climate crisis is affecting the poor at a rate so much greater than we can see in the West.
There are many environmental injustices that should horrify us and spur us into action. For example, Pope Francis talks about how landfills are often located near the poor. Not only are they ugly, but they emit hazardous toxins. And why? So that we can consume more stuff and then throw it away when we’re done so that it can live in a landfill, decomposing for decades?
This was such a convicting document for me and I think it can challenge us all to act now.
Laudato Deum
This is the Pope’s sequel, if you will, to Laudato Si’. He published it in October 2023, and I wanted to wait to read it until I’d finished Laudato Si’. This is much shorter, in particular, and the text is available here, if you don’t have a problem reading on a screen. You can also buy the text in a book format from a variety of different sellers on Amazon.
Fiction
A World Such as Heaven Intended by Amanda Lauer
I bought this book back in 2022 and finally read it! I went in with high expectations because I’ve heard many other people talk about this book, and it’s won several awards. And it didn’t disappoint! It takes place during the Civil War and follows the story of Amara, who is helping her uncle care for the soldiers at a makeshift hospital in Atlanta. You can tell early on who she’s going to fall in love with, but you’re left wondering: how? And that’s what this story is about. The main characters are Catholic and we can see that through their prayer life and their interactions with the priest.
I definitely plan to read the rest of the series. I’m planning to read them in order, although they can be read as stand-alones.