Books | Simple Mom

Freefall to Fly

If it were possible to feel an emotion when I went through depression several years ago, that emotion would have been surprised. I never pegged myself as someone prone to depression, and besides, I always thought depression meant crying, walking around feeling sad all the time, and triggered by something traumatic or heartbreaking.

But since my typical depressive state was feeling…. nothing, I wasn’t surprised, because “surprise” is a feeling, isn’t it? And so I went through about two years, off and on, feeling nothing more than something, waiting for something or someone to pull me out of my cloud and make to my usual self.

It’s now been about three years since I was in the thick throes of depression, though I remember the odd, in between-like state as though it were yesterday, and I’m fully aware that those who’ve been depressed before have a higher chance of becoming depressed again—meaning, it’s fully part of my life in some way. And because those dealing with depression are dear to my heart, I love reading words from someone who “gets” what it feels like. If she packages it in a beautiful book that’s perfect for giving to those who need a dose of encouragement? Even better.

Rebekah Lyons’ first book, Freefall to Fly, isn’t only about depression, but it’s a very real part of her story. And because this book is about her story, her words are a gift of comfort to those who’ve had that freefall feeling, not knowing what’s up.

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Rebekah tells her tale of moving from the suburban south to the heart of New York City, and what it feels like to be yanked out of everything normal and comfortable and into constant newness and culture shock.

It forced her to answer big questions about her life, like Why was I put on earth?, How do I turn suffering into something beautiful and useful?, and Is this really the way God intended life to be? And in finding answers to her questions, she found healing.

The book is about finding meaning by taking risks, whatever those risks may look like for you.

The end of the book provides space and open-ended questions for the reader to think through her own life as well, making Rebekah’s personal story an application for anybody. Why are you on earth?

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Giveaway

Rebekah is giving TEN Simple Mom readers a copy of Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning. To enter, simply leave any comment on this post! (If you’re reading this via email, hop over to the site to leave a comment there.)

Something Fun

art-print-pop If you buy Rebekah’s book, you can enter your information here (scroll down), and you’ll receive three additional gifts: an original chalk art print by artist Dana Tanamachi, a TOMS $5 gift card, and a Freefall to Fly digital soundtrack. Pretty cool!

This giveaway is now closed. Check back on Saturday, May 18 – we’ll announce the winners then.

Poem: What it is is Beautiful

Don’t we all ask ourselves: How can I be more present? How can I find more enjoyment in these days, right now? How can I appreciate what I have, before trying to rush on to the next stage of life?

I wrestle with these questions all the time. I want everything in my life to line up with my ideals, so I tend to attack each day as if it were a project to manage. But isn’t life supposed to be a feast of experiences to taste and savor, instead?

Having kids has reminded me that imagination is transformative. Everything doesn’t have to be as we think it is. We can see the trappings of our lives differently.

This, for me, is the point of all poetry. It’s a small and seemingly insignificant thing — but in that concision, it can deliver a potent shot of perspective.

The following poem is the title poem from my book (newly-released on Amazon, for the price of a greeting card). Its title is a reference to a LEGO ad from the 1980s. I chose it because it’s the perfect reminder: It doesn’t matter what type of chaos we’re looking at — we can choose to see this life with new eyes.
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Bread & Wine

It’s time for April’s book o’ the month, one of my favorite features in our new posting rhythm here on the blog. And I couldn’t be more excited about this book if I tried—I wanted to read it the nanosecond I heard about it, and the contents within have completely lived up to my expectations.

Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist isn’t a cookbook. I mean, there’s recipes inside (and lots of gluten-free ones at that!), but its purpose is not to teach you how to cook. Shauna’s heart here is to celebrate what happens around the table, both the mingling of ingredients and the hearts of people. And it’s to push you to think differently about the significance of your cooking, and that it is eternally valuable because of the relationships it forges.

shauna niequist

I laughed and cried reading this book—true story. It made me long for more of a community here in my new town, and it made me grateful for the wild intricacies of butter and mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I nodded in understanding when Shauna wrote about feasting and fasting, having recently done that myself. And good gracious if it didn’t make me crave a lake house.

Plus, how can you not like a book that quotes both G.K. Chesterton and 50 Cent?

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Note from Tsh: I first met my friend Holley Gerth several years ago, and every time I’m around this woman, I walk away a bit lighter. I’ve never met anyone so obviously blessed with the gift of encouragement, so I’m honored to let her encourage all of us a bit today. I absolutely love her newest book (and even ordered it for a friend or two as soon as I finished it myself!), and you’ll get a chance to win a copy at the end of this post. Read on!

Our world tells us to be independent. We’re supposed to “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps” (whatever that means). We hear stories of heroes who seem to do it all by themselves. We read self-help books. Yet all of that is ultimately a myth.

We need other people. I do. You do. We need each other.

That’s especially true when it comes to pursuing a dream in our lives. So let’s talk about who can be on your dream team.
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Pursuing Justice (and a giveaway)

Pursuing Justice

If you’re like me, you might be a little hesitant to sit down over a cup of coffee and curl up with a book with a title like Pursuing Justice. It’s kinda like purposely choosing a documentary about the horrors of the sex trade industry for your living room date night. It probably won’t be entertaining.

But you know what? This book is good. Really good. Because it argues the simple fact that just because we can’t fix the world, doesn’t mean we can’t change the world.

Justice may seem like a fad right now—everyone cares (or at least knows they should care) about feeding the hungry, caring for the orphans, and giving to the poor. It sits well in our hearts when children have access to clean water, to education, and sleep night on a sheltered bed. But is caring about this trendy?

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