Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
Just Trust Life: A Journey with Teilhard de Chardin By: Christine Tracy Book: Memoir, 150 pages Summary: In this gritty memoir about tackling life’s challenges with the promise of transcendence, Tracy illustrates how seemingly chance encounters with French Catholic priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s work catalyzed her emotional and spiritual expansion. To read “Just Trust Life” is to receive a download of Teilhard’s mystical energy. Yet, this book is more than a poetic and practical introduction to this mystic. Through scenes from Tracy’s life, readers learn what it means to be a “spiritual being having a human experience.” As Teilhard’s spirit accompanied her through struggles with addiction, infidelity, divorce, a house fire and a near-death experience, Tracy realizes that we are never alone and have the power to wake up. Author: Christine Tracy is a journalist, writer, media ecologist and Teilhardian scholar. She moved to Boulder from Ann Arbor, Michigan, eight years ago and started writing “Just Trust Life” during the pandemic, when she took regular hikes in the Sanitas Mountains. “Just Trust Life” is her third book about her beloved muse, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. All Oars In: Economic Strategy for a United America By: Susan McVicker Book: Economics, 101 pages Summary: No more wrecking ball. Here is an economic strategy we can all agree upon to keep the nation from plummeting over the fiscal cliff. Yes, we have problems. Yes, there are solutions outlined in this book: eliminate the deficit; save Social Security; provide healthcare for all; offer effective education. Following the ideas in the book, we can build pillars of prosperity now and for posterity. And, we can do this united together, wisely, compassionately. Author: Susan McCoy McVicker has her roots in economics and business. From being an economist for the CIA to a financial strategist on Wall Street, she cares deeply about the fiscal sustainability of the nation and prosperity for all. She also writes and publishes poetry. These Chasms in the Earth By: Cecily Stone Book: Poetry, 134 pages Summary: In “These Chasms in the Earth: Upheaval Poems on Motherhood, Sacrifice, and Self,” Cecily Stone writes of love and loss, of trying and failing to hold a family together and what to tell the children when it all falls apart. In this collection, a story unfolds as we descend downward into the cracks of self-sacrifice. We are forced to ask: How much of a mother’s self can she give away before she is gone completely? The voices of Stone and her tribe rise and merge together at the base of the mountains in this staggering collection of poems and essays on motherhood, erupting, falling and triumphantly learning to climb. Author: Cecily Stone is a mother, writer, computer nerd and author of “These Chasms in the Earth.” Her works have appeared in literary magazines, anthologies and on a set of compost liners distributed by Compost Colorado. Stone shares her stories of motherhood, sacrifice and rebirth at open mics and on Instagram: @cecilystonespeaks. A Gardener’s Guide to Love and Loathing By: Chelsea Pennington Book: Romance, 301 pages Summary: Annie has a plan. She’s going to finish her doctorate in applied mathematics and get an industry job that will finally make her parents proud. The only time she takes a break is to care for her plot at the community garden. It would be the perfect stress relief if it weren’t for Jude. Jude couldn’t care less about what people think of her. This is especially true of Annie. Why should she care about the opinion of someone who tried to get her kicked out of the garden but keeps pretending that she’s innocent? When someone starts stealing plants from the garden, the two women are forced to work together to catch the thief. It seems like the worst idea in the world … until it isn’t. Between a competition at the farmers market, a late-night stakeout and far too many pizza rolls, they unexpectedly find themselves becoming friends and maybe something more. But as it becomes clear that the thefts are part of a larger sabotage plot, they’ll have to decide how much trust to put in each other and what they’re willing to sacrifice to save the garden.
