Emilie Richards's Blog, page 17

Sunday Inspiration: Mr. Rogers

With his wisdom and humor and creativity, Mr. Rogers helped many of us raise our children into mature adults. In his gentle and unimposing way he supported and encouraged children to become the best versions of themselves. These are a few of my favorite quotes of his, but you can find more here. Thank you Mr. Rogers for the gift of your honest self.

As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have, something inside that is unique to all time.When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life’s important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.​​There is no normal life that is free of pain. It’s the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.The thing I remember best about successful people I’ve met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they’re doing, and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they’re doing, and they love it in front of others.It’s good to be curious about many things.If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of.The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.

 

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2021: A Great Year for Books? Tell Us Your Favorites.

Did you notice I’ve been missing? Or that Sunday Inspiration posts are the only ones on Southern Exposure since early fall?

Okay, so you didn’t notice, and frankly neither did I. In fact, when I began to think about this, I couldn’t remember when my new aversion to deadlines began to infect my blogging, too. I had to page back and see when I last wrote a general post.

There’s a problem with deadlines.

Since the mid-1980s, I’ve paid close attention to writing deadlines, and those deadlines helped me survive and thrive as a novelist. But 2021 was the year I realized I’d had my fill. Team that  with the pandemic, and somehow I just stopped blogging, too.

Today marks my return but with a different approach. In honor of the new year, I plan to blog when and if I have something I want to say. Since I don’t know how often that will happen, I hope you’ll pop in from time to time to see.

Back in March 2021, I blogged about all the books I read in 2020, and listed my favorites. As hard as it is for me to believe, I’ve kept a list this year, too, more than a list really.  I rate each book and always add a few lines to remind myself of the story, because titles rarely stick with me. That’s funny, of course, since finding the right title for my own books is front and central to my writing process.

Since I’m not much of a list keeper, I’m delighted I can be this organized. But what a pleasure it’s been to look back over my lists this month and recall the books I loved most.

Before you read my list? How about yours?

I’d love to know what books you loved in 2021, so if you comment here, and list some of your favorites  (you must list at least three), I’ll enter you in a randomly drawn giveaway for a copy of The House Guests, my own 2021 book. The winner must have a North American address for mailing and you must comment here by January 28th.

By the way, don’t confuse this giveaway with the January giveaway for my newsletter readers. This is a different one entirely. You can enter both.

My list for 2021 has–and I didn’t plan this–21 “best” books, as opposed to 14 last year. 10 are historicals–depending on how you define that term. 6 are women’s fiction, 1 is fantasy, 1 a thriller, 2 suspense/mystery. Several were feel-good, laugh aloud, books with great author voices. Some stories were painful to think about and difficult to finish. What they had in common? Wonderful writing, characters I wanted to know more about, and stories with something to say. Since I love audiobooks, I listened to 3 of these on Audible.com as I walked in the mornings.

Without further introduction, here’s a list of all the books that received either a 4.5 or 5 star review from me. They’re listed in no particular order, but once you’re read my list, I’ll tell you which book got an immediate 5, a story I won’t soon forget.

A Thousand Splendid Suns –Khalid Hosseini The Last Days of Night –Graham Moore The Splendid and the Vile –Erik Larson The Book of Lost Friends –Lisa Wingate The Searcher –Tana French Writers and Lovers –Lily King Big Summer –Jennifer Weiner We Were the Lucky Ones –Georgia Hunter The Newcomer –Mary Kay AndrewsNew York–Edward Rutherfurd The Silence of the Girls –Pat Barker Natchez Burning –Greg Iles Pack Up the Moon –Kristan Higgins Nine Women, One Dress –Jane L. Rosen The Huntress –Kate Quinn The Four Winds –Kristin Hannah The Last Train to London –Meg Waite Clayton The Thursday Murder Club –Richard OsmanMutts and Mistletoe–Natalie Cox Churchill’s Secret Messenger –Alan HladTurn Coat (Dresden Files) Jim Butcher

The book that most stood out for me? The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. While the novel is heart wrenching, I think Kristin Hannah recreated a moment in history that transformed our society, and she recreated it beautifully. It didn’t hurt that I was an American Studies major in college, either. We bring ourselves to what we read, and that influences us, doesn’t it?

Now, it’s your turn. What were your favorite books in 2021? Let us know.

***Because I can only link to one store at a time, the books on this list are linked to Amazon, where I am an Amazon Associate. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. That said, please buy or borrow them at the store or library that’s easiest for you.

 

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Sunday Inspiration: Hate is too great a burden to bear

“Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated.
Like an unchecked cancer,
hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity.
Many of our inner conflicts are rooted in hate.
This is why psychiatrists say, ‘Love or perish.’
Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Sunday Inspiration: God’s dream

God’s dream is that you and I and all of us
will realize that we are family,
that we are made for togetherness,
for goodness, and for compassion.

Desmond Tutu

 

These words are in memory of Bishop Tutu, a great religious and political leader who helped the people of South Africa move towards justice, freedom, and reconciliation. He died on December 26th at the age of 90, but his spirit will live on in the hearts of those he loved.

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Sunday Inspiration: I hope you make mistakes

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes,
then you are making new things, trying new things,
learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You’re doing things you’ve never done before,
and more importantly, you’re doing something.
— Neil Gaiman

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Sunday Inspiration: The Work of Christmas

The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.

Howard Thurman

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Sunday Inspiration: The Wise-Man Star

Every once in a while I share this reading at Christmas.

The excerpt comes from my novel Fugitive, which was released as part of a romance trilogy from Silhouette Books in the 1990s, and is now available in revised form as part of the three book Homecoming series on my web site. Tate, the heroine, has moved to a cabin on land in the Ozark mountains, left to her by a father she never knew.  This is an entry from her father’s journal.

“When one brilliant star hangs in the midnight sky like God’s own night-light, folks hereabouts call it a wise-man star. I can’t think of a reason to call it anything else, can you? Even the wisest of us needs help finding his way sometimes.

“There’s always been a wise-man star on Christmas Eve as long as I’ve been alive–and sometimes I think I’ve been alive forever. The star has always been there, reminding me that there’s something out there to search for, something that needs finding.

“The wise men weren’t just wise, they were brave. It took courage to go looking for that tiny baby in the manger. Not because they could have gotten lost. No, getting lost was the least of their troubles. It took courage because the baby might just get himself found, and once he was, well, lives were going to be changed forever. The son of God can do that to you.

“The son of man can do that to you, too–or the daughter of man. Go looking for the baby in the manger or the hospital, or in the pitiful, thin arms of a starving mother, and your life is changed forever, too. Some of us can’t find our camels to make that search. We sit home, and we search for the star instead. And when it hangs high in a Christmas Eve sky, then it’s just the same thing as being told we’re not all we were meant to be.

“But ain’t it wonderful the way the wise-man star just goes ahead and shines on, anyhow? Every Christmas Eve it shines. Maybe it’s God’s way of egging us on. Or maybe it’s His way of telling us He loves us, anyway, even if we’ve put our camels out to pasture this year.  “I’d like to think so anyway, wouldn’t you?”

May your own holiday be filled with love, transformation and reconciliation.

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Sunday Inspiration: Advent is Possible

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul,

who know themselves to be poor and imperfect,

and who look forward to something greater to come.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian

 

Are you looking forward to greatness this Advent season? What joy awaits you?

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Sunday Inspiration: When your flashlight grows dim…

When a flashlight grows dim or quits working,
do you just throw it away? Of course not.
You change the batteries.
When a person messes up or finds themselves in a dark place,
do you cast them aside?
Of course not! You help them change their batteries.

Some need AA…attention and affection;
some need AAA…attention, affection, and acceptance;
some need C….compassion;
some need D…direction.

And if they still don’t seem to shine…simply sit with them quietly and share your light.

– Rachel Dansby Freeman

 

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Sunday Inspiration: Gratitude

“Some people could be given an entire field of roses

and only see thorns in it.

Others could be given a single weed

and only see the wildflower in it.

Perception is a key component to gratitude.

And gratitude is a key component to joy.

-Amy Weatherly

 

Sometimes we think of gratitude as something we ought to try as opposed to something that is a key component to joy. I liked this reminder. While we’re still giving thanks…

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