This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing olivia@smithcenter.org.

with Olivia Gonyea

Welcome to “Pop-Up Book Club,” a community of book lovers diving into current and relevant book material.

For our second session, we will read The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Ledger.

On June 27th, Olivia will lead us in a lively discussion about the book. Please join us no matter how much or little of the book you have read. Please read below for a description of the book.

Pop-Up Book Club will be held from 12:00-1:00pm ET.

• February 2 (The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama)
• June 27 (The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Ledger)
• November 7 (No Pressure No, Diamond: Mining for Gifts in Illness & Loss by Teri A. Dillion) (moved from May date)
• Future sessions TBD

From the author of the bestselling More Beautiful Than Before comes an inspiring book about loss based on his most popular sermon.

As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains.

This inspiring and comforting book takes us on a journey through the experience of loss that is fundamental to everyone. Yet even after having sat beside thousands of deathbeds, Steve Leder the rabbi was not fully prepared for the loss of his own father. It was only then that Steve Leder the son truly learned how loss makes life beautiful by giving it meaning and touching us with love that we had not felt before.

Enriched by Rabbi Leder’s irreverence, vulnerability, and wicked sense of humor, this heartfelt narrative is filled with laughter and tears, the wisdom of millennia and modernity, and, most of all, an unfolding of the profound and simple truth that in loss we gain more than we ever imagined.

About Olivia Gonyea

Olivia Gonyea has been active in the cancer community for over 11 years as a childhood cancer survivor. She is also the founder of her own nonprofit organization that she created to support young people affected by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses at home in Buffalo, New York. Olivia never forgot the way that arts and creativity supported her during her experience with cancer and this inspired her to become involved with Smith Center. Olivia served as a Cancer Support Programs Intern in the Fall of 2021 and worked with Smith Center on her senior capstone project that focused on planning, implementing, and evaluating a photography-based program. Olivia received a degree in Public Health and International Studies from American University in DC and came on as a full-time staff in July 2022. She is excited to explore her interest in art and create connections with participants. Meet Olivia when you walk into Smith Center or want to learn more about programs and/or retreats!