Welcome to Nourish, a free monthly(ish) newsletter to help you be kinder to yourself and others. In your March 2025 issue: an abecedarian reflection, a new writing prompt, a spring playlist, celebrating a book birthday and more!
Dear reader,
After we moved away from Chicago, I felt as if I was lost in a foreign city, searching for a familiar street sign to point me in a good direction.
Books have always been the place where I’ve found myself: As a child, I stayed up past my bedtime reading Madeleine L’Engle. Then I majored in literature, studying Shakespeare and Dickinson in Valparaiso University’s library. Now, I read in the margins of my day — waiting for school pickup, at basketball practice, during naps. Thus, it’s fitting that our new library became the landmark I needed to navigate suburban life.
Children are welcome and encouraged at our library, with its extensive picture book selection and colorful play area stocked with trains, Magna-Tiles, blocks and pretend food.
DVDs, graphic novels and video games are also available, and my sons add these items to media carts already brimming with books.
Every week, I take my preschooler Adam to the library to return books, pick up holds, browse the shelves and play with toys. I’m one of many caretakers who rely on this space for early childhood entertainment.
Froggy is one of Adam’s favorite series to reach for — we’ve read about Froggy playing in the snow, visiting Hawaii and running for class president. What I like most about these books are Froggy’s embarrassing moments, when he turns “more red in the face than green.”
Goodness knows we’ve all had hard moments like Froggy; I love how books make us feel less alone in our humanity.
Hands down, my favorite children's book is Miss Rumphius, a story about a girl whose grandfather urges her to “make the world a little more beautiful.” The girl becomes Miss Rumphius, a passionate librarian and world traveler.
Interestingly, Miss Rumphius believes neither of those experiences fulfill her grandfather's call, so, nearing the end of her life, she decides to scatter lupine seeds around her village by the sea. Then Miss Rumphius bestows the same mission to her grand niece and all of us to consider how we might grow wildflowers in the time we’ve been given.
Jack became an avid reader this year, devouring The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series as well as books by Dav Pilkey and Louis Sachar. At home, our second grader is rarely found without a book in hand.
Kindness is the most important value I want to instill in my children. Reading widely plants seeds for compassion and understanding.
Like stories, libraries are an antidote to loneliness. They’re one of the few public spaces we have where everyone belongs. Our library fosters community through clubs, workshops and storytime for little ones.
My librarian friend tells me the funniest stories about the “other duties as assigned” that librarians take on, such as navigating patrons who picnic in the library and thwarting the efforts of those who, sadly, deface books.
Never did I ever imagine librarians handling such strange situations! Conversely, she says her favorite part of her job is connecting with patrons and recommending books.
Our favorite book she recommended was The Lantern House, which traces the emotional life of a house as it shelters and nurtures two families. This spring, Jay and I are searching for an affordable new house in a challenging market. I pray that we’ll find a forever home like the one in this book.
Perhaps the greatest lesson I'm learning from our library is that home isn't necessarily where you rest your head — you can access home among books and people as well.
Quiet time poring over a story grounds me. In this strange time of government upheaval and the Artificial Intelligence revolution, I'm looking to books to fill my appetite for hope.
Reading reminds me that, although the world is tough, so is the human spirit. Yes, life is laced with heartaches, but it's also breathtakingly beautiful.
Strangely enough, as I was composing this piece, the federal administration issued an executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which saddens me.
Taxes, state and federal grants, plus private donations fund libraries. Like everyone, I don't like taxes. Nevertheless, I like pooling resources to spread knowledge, and I'm distressed about what may happen to U.S. libraries if federal funds are cut.
Usually I visit our library in the afternoon, when sunlight floods in through its floor length windows and spills across the carpet. If Adam is with me, he'll run to the chess board near the atrium to play. If I'm alone, I’ll browse the cookbook table. When I'm not writing in my apartment office, I’ll come here to wrestle words to the page.
Venerating and collecting history, art and knowledge is a time honored tradition. Libraries have had a place in society since the earliest times, when “there was no distinction between a record room (or archive) and a library, and in this sense libraries can be said to have existed for almost as long as records have been kept,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
What would life be like without libraries? Libraries celebrate and steward stories. On the darkest night or the fairest day, their words teach us to notice goodness glimmering in and around us.
X marks the spot. A good story is a treasure and a home for the heart. My boys and I hunt the library for gems that will delight our imaginations when we read at bedtime: Harry Potter, Little Critter, the Berenstain Bears.
Yesterday, I noticed a little girl with pigtails and rockstar sunglasses bouncing towards the children's section, followed by her mother. A toddler boy with dark curly hair raced in behind her. Their enthusiasm made me grin.
Zealous reader is an identity I've adopted since second grade. I’ve always loved libraries, whether at school or near home. Libraries are the beacon of education, bearing witness to all that's been and illuminating all that humanity can become. There's no place like the library. And, in this chapter of our family story, the place where stories reign has become home for us all.
NOURISH YOURSELF
{writing prompt} Author Gretchen Rubin is a master of habit building. One of her concepts I absolutely adore is personal commandments. “These aren’t specific resolutions, like make my bed, but the overarching principles by which I try to live my life,” Rubin writes. “Each person’s list will differ.”
Here are some of mine:
Always do your best (my dad).
Change creates change.
You manage what you measure (Rubin).
Sola gratia (Latin for “grace alone,” attributed to Martin Luther).
Do you have personal adages you follow? Write for ten minutes on this topic and explore the rules you already live by. What commandments would you add? Which would you adjust?
{spring walk} A new season is upon us, but true to form, Chicagoland welcomed spring with a dusting of snow. The weather here will seesaw back and forth until May. Even so, all March I’ve been using my camera to capture growth, and while the landscape seems to be changing ever-so-slowly, the challenge motivated our family to get outside and move. Wherever you live, I encourage you to step out for a refreshing spring walk. Let gentle movement soothe your soul. Breathe in the fresh air. Open your eyes to beauty. Need an extra boost?Try walking with my Spring Ahead playlist.
NOURISH OTHERS
{feed your people} Food heals us. I think about this every February-March, when we relied on meals from others while our sons were newborns (their birthdays fall at the end of January and early February). There were chicken lettuce wraps from Allison, lactation cookies from Julia, homemade fish and chips from my mom — all among the best bites I’ve tasted. Is there someone in your network who could use the gift of nourishment? Someone caring for a newborn. Someone struggling after divorce. Someone grieving a loved one. Someone moving. Someone receiving chemo. Be a friend who shows up: Deliver blueberry muffins (my kids are obsessed with these!) and a cup of coffee. Share a pot of soup. Send a GrubHub gift card. Feed your people.
NOURISHING WORDS
Today’s the day: Happy second birthday to The Beauty of Motherhood!Motherhood is so many things: stunning, frustrating, empowering, exhausting and especially lonely. My coauthor Kim and I wrote this devotional to remind moms that they aren’t alone in this sacred vocation — God and other mothers are with them. Recently, I shared with friends that, in the two years since we released this book, its message of noticing God’s grace among the piles of dishes, at the playground and in never-ending bedtimes has written itself on my heart.
Do you know a mom who could use a word of encouragement? The Beauty of Motherhood is a lovely gift for baby showers and baptisms, or for visiting a new mom. You can also use it as a book study for moms’ or parents’ groups with a Christian focus. Order your copy today via Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon and elsewhere. Or, contact your library and request a copy for your branch!
A birthday wish: If you enjoyed The Beauty of Motherhood, but have yet to review it, will you please visit Amazon or Goodreads and leave a positive review? Reviews help us connect with new readers. We are deeply grateful for your support.
“You are not asked to alter history.
But you can join the mending of the world.
You are a small stitch in a great tapestry,
with the gift to make your place in the world
more beautiful, graced, and blessed.
You are not alone, but part of a Body
more connected than you can see.
You are more powerful than you think.
And more beloved than you can imagine.”
— Steve Garnaas-Holmes
I loved so much about this, Erin. I have fond childhood memories of wandering the children's section, getting my first library card, and finding a cozy corner to read in while my brothers looked for books. Even in adulthood, libraries have been a sanctuary for us; often the local library was the first place we would visit after our moves with the military. Even if it took time to make friends, we always had instant access to beloved stories. We lived within walking distance to a library when Josie was a baby, and we were there A LOT. I even worked in a library for a short time at our first duty station, one of my last jobs before having kids. Thanks for your question...it's fun to look back at some of the libraries we've visited over the years.
I loved so much about this, Erin. I have fond childhood memories of wandering the children's section, getting my first library card, and finding a cozy corner to read in while my brothers looked for books. Even in adulthood, libraries have been a sanctuary for us; often the local library was the first place we would visit after our moves with the military. Even if it took time to make friends, we always had instant access to beloved stories. We lived within walking distance to a library when Josie was a baby, and we were there A LOT. I even worked in a library for a short time at our first duty station, one of my last jobs before having kids. Thanks for your question...it's fun to look back at some of the libraries we've visited over the years.
Happy book birthday to you and Kim!
Happy second birthday to your book! This: "I love how books make us feel less alone in our humanity." Me too, me too <3