You have convictions. You have passions. It may be time to dig deep and amplify your voice. It can be a little overwhelming to put your deep desires out in print, but I encourage all of you to make your voice heard to speak for what is most meaningful to you.
My own passions include supporting children and families. Last year I put together a book on spiritual practices for families called the Spiritual Practice Playbook for Families. I felt it was the right time for families to move beyond Zoom and to find ways to connect deeply with one another and to create an opportunity to create spiritual practices as a family.
I recently had this book reviewed by Writer’s Digest and I was so affirmed by their comments:
Review of Spiritual Practice Playbook for Families by Linnea Nelson:
“The book is visually stunning, featuring undersea images that immediately drop the reader’s shoulders, elicit a deep exhale and dial the mind to easier, calmer, tropical breeze times. We are primed to experience this book, a smart idea to provide to parents who are likely looking for ways right now for the family to gather together (and get away from their screens) to make some art and learn some new things as a group. If everyone is learning how to meditate, it’s likely easier for the family members who really need it to start a practice, rather than just the reader telling everyone that they really should start meditating. This book is the right, beautiful book at the right time, layered with use in enough repetition for a practice to be established. Well done. I like the fill-in spaces for everyone to use, since this activity book can be kept so that you’ll look back on those precious notes and drawings years from now.
The structure is one of its greatest strengths, as it’s precisely the ease of use and ease of access to the different topics that makes this a family-accessible activity. This book is exemplary in production quality and cover design. The physical materials, printing, and binding are of professional quality and traditional industry standards. The typesetting and page layout (including illustrations, images, or figures) are easy to follow, thoughtfully designed, and error free. The cover appears to be professionally designed and is compellingly related to the content/genre of the book.
This book is beautiful to look at, from the calming cover image of the sea vista and brightly-colored fish to the smart layouts of the art page, the note-taking space, and other experiences. Author leaves room for the reader and family to make this their own book via their writings. Author also has featured gorgeous images within the book, such as the art on the spiritual pages, the altar, the candles the orange. This breadth of design calls in plenty of variety for the family’s use and benefit. It’s a beautiful guide and becomes an important keepsake later.
Bringing families together for calming, centering, and meditation exercises, plus moments of learning and being inspired has lots of appeal, especially during these challenging times of the pandemic and families handling a lot of stress. The author creates a calming pattern of repeated features like the art pages and the journal space, and it’s that repeated return that feels like gently lapping waves, always returning anew. This book just feels good, for its open-space full of potential to how each family member is honored with making their own choices and finding freedom to participate to his or her own chosen degree. The same goes for everyone else in the family. Freedom of expression, a helping hand to learning how meditation might best work for you. Very well done. Many layers of benefit.
Author writes with a steady, calming, guiding voice, using excellent phrasing and word choice. I noticed where the author mentions The Artist’s Way and its morning pages that the author provides sturdy advice, such as that adults write three longhand pages, ‘no more, no less.’ I initially thought that the ‘no more, no less’ veered away from the light energy and personal freedom guidance of the book, but then I remembered that the Artist’s Way’s morning pages are specifically designed to be the three pages. Author is actually being gentle in the instructions by not over-describing! That’s great instinct, again keeping all of the family members in mind. Author succeeds at the challenge of being relatable to all age groups, since everyone from little ones to grandparents and beyond can participate here. Author invites them in, with her unfailingly positive, guiding voice, to work together as a group to learn new calming skills.
I have no notes for improvement on this book, but rather use this space to encourage the author to keep writing. I see that she has an additional book on transforming community coming out, and it makes me happy that the author brings this structure and learning methods to the world. It’s a fresh idea, compiled so beautifully, and author remains at the center of it as our encourager.” –Reviewer from Writer’s Digest, December 2022
