Thrive, book review

Chayne, Kamea. Thrive: An Environmentally Conscious Lifestyle Guide to Better Health and True Wealth. Purpose Prints, 2016. 242 pages. Paperback $16.99, 978-0997132021. 

The dedication to Chayne’s book may tell prospective readers more about Thrive than will this review, for it beautifully distills the book’s essence into what I read as the author’s wish for humanity. “To exist is to be at one point in time. To live is to experience every passing moment with your five senses and your mind open. To Thrive is to think beyond what is best for each of us right now and to act upon what is best for our world for the future. And that is the rarest thing of all. It is our collective selflessness that can give us a chance to create a forever.” The Table of Contents presents a tantalizing menu of upcoming chapters, exciting the sentient reader into turning all of the book’s the pages. Promising “an evidence-based summary of how you can begin to life a healthier, happier life right away,” Chayne’s Thrive delivers from the first page. As one who already considers what I eat, how I interact and why I shop used over new, this reader was impressed by the multitude of ideas presented in every section, and by the simplicity with which each was explained and presented as actionable.

Due out in May, 2016, Thrive belongs on library shelves, in a multitude of gift boxes (with recyclable or reusable wrapping, of course) and on book discussion group lists around the globe. The simplicity of Chayne’s presentation, paired with the wealth of resources from which her conclusions are drawn, makes the work suitable for classroom use wherein a chapter is studied for content and craft and can be the basis of lessons on writing, argumentation, or research—lessons with the potential to reach beyond the narrow purview of classroom goals and objectives. Do yourself a favor and put Thrive on your reading list today.

 Full disclosure: I received a free, advance reading copy of this book from Purpose Prints in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Faith is a Journey

Photo by Bri'Anca Jordan

Accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior came late in my life. Although I was raised in a church it was a Unitarian church and we spoke of one God. The church was walking distance from our house, we did not even think of driving the few blocks. Being good neighbors and stewards of the earth, we always picked up any litter we found along the way. Our church was located next to our branch library and the first elementary school my sister and I attended. A large Catholic church was located practically across the street from the library, but in our household the trinity was a foreign concept. It remained foreign throughout the first half-century of my life.

The town where I was raised seemed to be predominantly Catholic and Jewish, or at least those were the kids easiest to identify because either they attended CCD classes and got confirmed at some point or they attended Hebrew School and had a bar or bat mitzvah celebration. For my sister and me, Sunday School was held on Sunday mornings for the little kids, and when we got older we graduated to choir practice on Thursday afternoons and then attended the adult worship services on Sundays (sitting in the choir loft, of course). As an adult I drifted away from church and organized religion, and for some years even away from God. But upon moving to the heart of the Bible Belt, on land that is truly in God's country, I could no longer deny the existence of a divine creator and I welcomed God back into my heart. What a relief!

These days I belong to an Interdenominational church located in Nashville, Tennessee. I attend fellowship suppers and Bible Study classes on Wednesdays and worship services on Sundays. We live about an hour away from the church, and for this reason I do not participate in Saturday activities including choir practice. When we first joined, I regretted that joining the choir would involve such inconvenience; now, I am content to sing along with the congregation. (Blessedly this congregation is light years away from the rigid New England traditions in which I was raised, wherein the congregation sat still and quiet, rising only to sing hymns on cue. At Metropolitan, congregants sing or speak whenever the Spirit moves us.)

Whenever becoming acquainted with a new culture or hobby, I have always turned to literature, in particular--fiction. When establishing a hobby farm a few years back, I relied on nonfiction; however, I had spent enough of my formative years soaking in the wisdom of such authors as James Herriott and Mary O'Hara that the culture of farm life was familiar. Similarly, as I came to Christianity, I devoured the authors of Christian Fiction that line the shelves of my local library before discovering the Cokesbury store in downtown Nashville.

Today I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and converse regularly with God. In recent years I have also accepted responsibility for stewardship of my body as well as the earth. A decade ago, I was an unbeliever surviving on the Standard American Diet (which, admittedly, is S.A.D.), passionately teaching middle school English in a Boston suburb. Now I am blessed to be living on a rolling hillside in Middle Tennessee where the majority of my neighbors are bovine, where instead of pets we have livestock, and where we can eat locally and know the source of much of our food. My primary food incorporates spirituality, relationships, career and physical activity. What goes into my mouth is but secondary food. (And it is generally far more healthful than in years past.) For this outlook, I thank the teachings of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Welcome to the Faithful in Health blog where I imagine we'll be covering topics related to health (human and environmental), natural living, faith, contemporary literature and well being. I am glad to be beginning this journey with you.

Blessings.