What's Saving Me: Art, Tea, and Forgeries

plus, a giveaway

Hi, folks! (Sorry for the delay in emailing/posting this—it was a Substack issue)

It’s the end of third quarter for our kids, and as you read this, I’m with the family on a quick getaway to Amish country for a cozy retreat. About once a month I like to offer a quick roundup of what’s saving my life in large and small ways, so that’s what I have teed up for you this week. 

PLUS! The group guide for Hope: A User’s Manual is now available for download (PDF). To celebrate, I have three vouchers for audiobook versions of Hope: A User’s Manual to give away. Details are at the bottom of this post. Thank you so, so much for reading and interacting with this book. 

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I’ve been haunted by this story about Adolfo Kaminsky since I read it. He was a forger of documents who saved the lives of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. I highly recommend this winsome and poignant short film about his life. 

Listen to what he says near the end of the documentary:

I’ve had a very happy life, with an adorable wife, children; truly something to be proud of. 

[long pause]

But there are so many corpses.

If I hadn’t been able to do anything, I wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

He recently passed away at 97 after a good long life. These words–and that long pause–will stay with me a long time. 

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“The outer work can never be small if the inner work is great. And the outer work can never be great if the inner work is small.” -Meister Eckhart

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I became a committed tea drinker during the pandemic, especially chai, the brewing of which I now have down to comforting, satisfying ritual. Lately I’ve been experimenting more creatively–combining flavors of loose tea together, putting some of those teas and spices into a simmer pot on the stove. Is there such a thing as a Christian kitchen witch? If so, ~raises hand~ Any other tea drinkers want to share their favorite flavors or combinations?

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Abbott Elementary. Charming and sweet.

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A.R. Moxon is a novelist who also writes about politics, culture, and the dangers of Christian nationalism. And then every so often he writes super detailed recaps and analysis of the TV series LOST. Yes, I’m talking about the six season mystery-box show that concluded more than twelve years ago. What delicious madness this is! There isn’t a branding expert alive who would advise a writer to put these two topics in the same newsletter, yet here he is, recapping the events on the island with all the cleverness, panache, and verbosity of the early-aughts Television without Pity website. The cynical part of me says it must be nice to be a bestselling author, because you can do bonkers stuff like that and not lose your audience. The better part of me sees it as a wonderful example of just putting stuff out in the world because it delights YOU to do so. (LOST happens to be one of my very favorite TV shows ever, including the controversial final episode.)

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New wall art, part 1. Several years ago, a family member gave me Posters for Change, a coffee table book of artful protest posters. I’ve thumbed through it over the years and thought, “These should be on a wall where more people can see them.” I finally picked out four of my favorites and got my engineer husband to help me hang them evenly:

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New wall art, part 2. My friend Casey Wait is an artist and I’ve been collecting various works of hers, including Patriot Act which hangs in my home study/den. I just got Mary the Tower back from the frame shop and have decided she will lurk over my shoulder in my church study. (Who is Mary the Tower? Diana Butler Bass preaches about her here.)

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Ezra Klein recently interviewed longtime sex and advice columnist Dan Savage on Ezra’s podcast. The episode is called Polyamory, Chosen Family and Better Sex, but believe me when I tell you they go way beyond those topics. I’ve had more than one conversation with more than one pastor about this episode and what it lifts up about honest communication–and there’s a wise side comment about the so-called spiritual-but-not-religious as well. 

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Books I’m reading: In keeping with being resolution-free in ’23, I didn’t set any goals for number of books to read this year. My only intention is NOT to read any church leadership or businessy books. I’ve got plenty of other non-fiction going though. Currently I’m in the middle of:
Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941 by William L. Shirer (recommended by Dan Savage, above)
Freeing Jesus by Diana Butler Bass
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté.
The latter will surely show up in Monday’s post for paid subscribers, about what I’ve learned about parenting teens through depression and mental illness.

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New wall art, part 3. I commandeered this sign from my kids and it’s now at the church:

Yes you are.

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What I’m Up To

It’s podcast season. In addition to being on recent podcasts for First Presbyterian Church, Royal Oak Michigan, and Eastridge Presbyterian in Lincoln Nebraska, my own pod will be resuming in about a week. Are you subscribed? Search “blue room maryann” in your podcast app and you should find it. 

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Audiobook Giveaway

We’re celebrating the new group guide for Hope: A User’s Manual by giving away audiobooks! To be entered into the drawing for one of three vouchers, you can do any of the following (or more than one for multiple entries):

• Share this post (or any other) with a friend or on social media using the button below, then email me a copy of your share at maryannmcdana@gmail.com (because this is a two-step process, you get entered twice)

• Become a subscriber, or upgrade to a paid subscriber at any level. (If you’ve been on the fence, here’s your incentive.)

• Comment on this post using the button below and share what’s saving your life lately… or anything else you want to say! I love hearing from readers.

Good luck! And steady on.