This picture was from just two years ago when I attended a discussion and book signing event in CT featuring Jodi Piccoult. I can't remember which book of hers was the first I read, but my most memorable book was "House Rules" -- written about a boy with Asperger Syndrome. My son Travis, who also has Asperger's, was 11 when I read the book. What struck me was how informed Jodi's writing was, so much so that I assumed she had personal experience with a child on the spectrum. And it was the first time I had ever heard the term weighted blanket. I remember reading the book and seeing that term. Ten years ago, weighted blankets were not a thing; you couldn't find them at stores as you do now. But I found one online and ordered it. When it arrived, I made my son's bed and laid the blanket on top. When he got home from school that day, I didn't say anything to him about it; just let him go into his room and do his usual routine at the end of the school day, climbing into his bed to decompress from the day for a while. After about 15 minutes, I went in and asked him if he liked his new blanket. I figured he would because I ordered it in his favorite color. I didn't expect to hear what he said, though, which was something along the lines of "I don't know why, but I am so relaxed." I knew at that moment that reading Jodi's book was a gift to me. It wasn't just entertainment, a book of fiction; reading it helped me become a better mother.
When I read "Small Great Things," I could tell again that Jodi had done her homework. That book is not just a work of fiction, it is an education for all humanity, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Her latest book (the one I just finished before I felt compelled to write this post) is "The Book of Two Ways." It's fiction, it's a love story, but it is so much more as well. Her research, the work she put in behind the scenes so she could do the work of writing a book of fiction, shines through in this book. In addition to love, I learned about Egyptology, death doulas, and the concept of multiple universes.
I was doing a reading this weekend, and a question came up around my spiritual practice and how that works. I have mentors who help and guide me toward areas I can work on to be the best healer I can be. Most importantly, this involves doing work on myself. I have an intuitive coach that I do regular sessions with (2 actually). Because if I don't know who I am, or worse, don't act in alignment with who I am, then I don't know who I'm not. And when I am working intuitively with my clients, I need to know what is my stuff and what is theirs.
So I will continue to do my "work behind my work" while appreciating Jodi Piccoult and all the other people who are doing the same.
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