Hearthstone Book Club: Summer
'A More Beautiful Way to Live' by Bethaney Wilkinson
“We don’t heal just to mitigate the pain in our lives; we also heal so that we have the capacity to embrace the elation.”
Bethaney Wilkinson, A More Beautiful Way to Live
Welcome! Whether you’re a longtime friend or a new kindred spirit here (I recommend visiting the Village Green to get your bearings), I’m delighted to be a companion to you through the liturgical year.
Peek back at our previous book selections & discussions to catch up or revisit some of the incredible books, authors, and co-readers we’ve enjoyed together!
Pax+bonum, Kristin.
Has the pace felt a bit slower here?
…I hope so. This spring, as I’ve been pondering what ‘sustainability’ looks like for both writers and readers, having Bethaney Wilkinson (via her remarkable new book) alongside me has been such a source of inspiration and camaraderie.
Over the past few years, I’ve savored Bethaney’s pieces here on Substack,1 following along as she’s done the tender work of sharing both her faith journey (she converted to the Orthodox Church a year ago) and her heart for writing & teaching.
In her newest book, A More Beautiful Way to Live, I was delighted to get to hold the gift of Bethaney’s writing in my hands…taking it slowly and pausing to dig deeply into her incisive prompts and poignant reflections.
True to the nature of all of her work, A More Beautiful Way feels a bit like a map…a space to wander and explore. At its heart is the invitation to re-focus our divided attention - both a symptom and a cause of so much of our turmoil - toward more wholeness and attentiveness. Through bravely-vulnerable reflections and practical tips, Bethaney helps us explore the ways our modern pace of life may be hindering our vocation and harming our peace…and she offers us loving relatability and helpful ways to move forward.
All of this is told through the lens of the seasons - which, at a time when we tend to expect machine-like pace and precision from our very humane selves, is such a relief.
A More Beautiful Way to Live has already proven to be formational in refreshing my own habits, and I feel like summer will provide the perfect backdrop as we steep in this restorative book as a community!
And lovely Bethaney will be joining us this summer, too. :)
Bethaney Wilkinson is a writer, facilitator, spiritual director, and Orthodox Christian rooted in rural middle Georgia, where she lives with her husband Alex and their two dogs, Isla and Bear. She has an MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a BA in educational studies from Emory University. She is the author of A More Beautiful Way to Live: Nine Practices to Unlearn Habits of Anxiety, Fear, and Urgency and is the pen behind the Substack publication, The Inner Terrain.
GATHERINGS
Everyone is invited to read along with Book Club! All subscribers can share their questions and thoughts in the HF Chat and in the comments thread here.
Additionally, paid members can join for live online gatherings - including a discussion with the author herself!
Summer Book Club Gatherings:
LIVE DISCUSSIONS
For paid members.
Details and a Google Meet link will be sent the week of each discussion, and a reminder (with link) will be posted in Chat. If you can’t make it to these gatherings live, no worries; they’ll be recorded and posted for you to watch on the re-play.
WELCOME GATHERING
Monday, June 22 at 2 pm Pacific Time
Just an informal welcome gathering & time for chatting!CHAT WITH THE AUTHOR
Thursday, July 9 at 3 pm Pacific Time
Author Bethaney Wilkinson will be joining us as we dive into her book!
SUBSTACK CHAT
For all subscribers.
As you read, feel free to hop into our Chat space to discuss with other subscribers!
Bethaney shares some helpful links for purchasing her book here:
My Abbaye de Cluny rose is blooming right now, and she felt like the perfect emblem of beauty to accompany Bethaney’s book: not just because, in full bloom, this rose is so stunning…but also because her fleeting bloom time, her falling petals, feel like an equally beautiful part of this rose’s story.
Kind of like life: all the beauty, all the pain, in beautiful complexity. And as we hone our attentiveness, those fallen petals and tired blooms can be just as lovely as a new bud.
Pax et bonum,
Kristin
This spring, I also attended one of Bethaney’s (free!) online gatherings for writers…a lovely combination of teaching and discussion, which turned so many of my habitual ways of thinking upside-down and left me feeling invigorated!