Remember that one time we had a DDCSP book club?? No? Well, here's a recap! We met semi-regularly about once a month in 2019 & 2020 to discuss articles, surveys, and books that we found interesting.
- The group started off discussing selections from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. We loved Robin’s scientific storytelling. And we wondered, “How would the world and people be different if we knew and felt that the Earth loves us back?”
- Next, we moved onto quite a different reading, an article called Intro to the Apocalypse by anonymous. After this reading, we were honest about the state of the world and pulled each other out of some serious existential dread. We actually ended up somewhere pretty hopeful! We talked about the merits of sabotage vs protest and ways we are actively embodying the values of our desired new world. Why are we asking for permission to make changes? As one reader so poignantly noted, “We’ve colonized our imaginations.”
- We were really into All About Love by Bell Hooks for a couple of meetings. The book had us looking at how our childhoods and societal depictions of love affected our current love and relationship styles. We discussed masculinity, secrecy, child-rearing practices, self-love, and meditation.
- All of this brings us to the final reading selection of 2019, Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown. What a collection to wrap up on. Everyone had a deeply personal response to this book. A lot of feelings were shared! We are continuing to read through this book and discuss all of our feels, and that brings us up to date!
Things we referenced throughout our meetings:
- Walking the Clouds by Zainab Amadahy, Gerry William, Stephen Graham Jones
- A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
- The Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog
- Communion by Bell Hooks
- The Sunrise Movement
- The East by Zal Batmanglij
- "Determining the Relationship" quiz
- Maryam Hasnaa guided self-love meditation
- Erin Telford Breathwork meditation
If you would like to revitalize the book club, email sydney@elpnet.org!