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 Lisa Simms Booth

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks | Hachette Book Group

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

For our third session, we will read Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks.

On August 15th, Lisa 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)
  • August 15 (Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks)
  • November 7 (No Pressure No, Diamond: Mining for Gifts in Illness & Loss by Teri A. Dillion) (moved from May date)
  • Future sessions TBD

“My favorite novels light up my brain with things I hadn’t considered before – and this one does exactly that. The deep complexity of the American Civil Rights movement; the various, sometimes opposing approaches of its leaders to desegregation; the gains and inevitable casualties that social progress can claim. With compelling characters and a heart-pounding plot, Jamila Minnicks pulled me into pages of history I’d never turned before.”―Barbara Kingsolver, New York Times bestselling author of Demon Copperhead

It’s 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into all-Black New Jessup, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. Instead, they seek to maintain, and fortify, the community they cherish on their “side of the woods.” In this place, Alice falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup’s longstanding status quo and could lead to the young couple’s expulsion—or worse—from the home they both hold dear. As they marry and raise children together, Alice must find a way to balance her undying support for his underground work with her desire to protect New Jessup from the rising pressure of upheaval from inside, and outside, their side of town.

Based on the history of the many Black towns and settlements established across the country, Jamila Minnicks’s heartfelt and riveting debut is both a celebration of Black joy and a timely examination of the opposing viewpoints that attended desegregation in America.

Click <HERE> to get a copy of Moonrise Over New Jessup

About Lisa Simms Booth

Lisa Simms Booth comes to Smith Center following a nearly twenty-five year career in media, politics and advocacy. Lisa has always had a servant’s heart and has aspired to do work that improves the lives of others or empowers them to advocate for positive change. She has previously worked at LISTEN, Inc., The Alliance for Justice, Time Dollar Institute, Children’s Defense Fund, Democratic National Committee and the National Rainbow Coalition.

In 2003, Lisa started working at FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, which focuses on the systemic barriers to faster discovery of better treatments and cures for diseases including cancer. At the same time of getting this new job, Lisa’s mother Lucille was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Throughout her 14-year tenure at FasterCures in various leadership roles in partnership development, external affairs, and operations, she created programs that brought together pharmaceutical, biotech, philanthropic, and non-profit communities with the aim to make the system work better for patients. While working at FasterCures, Lisa was also living the roller coaster ride of treatment and remission with her mom which had a profound impact on her. Her mom’s eight-year journey and passing led to Lisa’s passion for cancer advocacy and she dedicates her work with patients to her mom with the hope that she can make this journey better for patients and their families.

This dedication served her well in her role as Senior Director of Patient and Public Engagement at the Biden Cancer Initiative, where she worked prior to joining Smith Center. At BCI, she helped define the organization’s advocacy outreach and collaboration strategies. She also led the design and coordination of the Biden Cancer Collaborative, which mobilized the cancer patient and advocacy community around key priorities, promoting, and sharing tried and tested approaches to addressing common problems. In addition, Lisa served as the staff lead for BCI’s Patient Navigation Working Group which was focused on exploring ways to make patient navigation more accessible to cancer patients.

She is a Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Michigan State University. Lisa lives in Silver Spring with her husband Bryan and their beloved dog, Taz. She’s an avid sports fan and loves music, going to the theater, and spending time with friends. She is active in the music ministry and community outreach efforts for her church, Metropolitan AME.

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.

Click <HERE> to get a copy of The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift

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!

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 Kiersten Gallagher

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

We will read No Pressure No, Diamond: Mining for Gifts in Illness & Loss by Teri A. Dillion and on November 7th, Kiersten 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.

How do you find real-deal, platitude-free hope and healing in the face of death? 

At 35 and newly married, thriving psychotherapist and Buddhist practitioner Teri Dillion had plenty of tidy answers on offer for creating a meaningful and beautiful life. But once diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and told to get her affairs in order before facing total paralysis, she finds all smug psychology and easy equanimity no match for her harrowing new prognosis.

With a humorous and nuanced exploration of the colorful landscapes of alternative medicine and self-help culture, No Pressure, No Diamonds recounts Teri’s powerful healing journey while shining a light on the fragile blessings of embodiment in general. As she grows disillusioned with toxic positivity and bypassing spiritual gurus in her determined pursuit of a miraculous cure, she’s forced to define her own deepest beliefs about hope, meaning-making, and healing.

Inspiring, entertaining, and deeply moving, this memoir will resonate with anyone forced to grapple with chronic or terminal illness. Teri’s story teaches us how the most brilliant jewels of meaning and resilience can be found not in conventional narratives of triumphant recovery, but in what we painstakingly and lovingly carve for ourselves out of life’s roughest blows.

Get No Pressure No, Diamond: Mining for Gifts in Illness & Loss <HERE>


About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher – Cancer Support Programs Director

Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at SmithCenter and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process. Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness. She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. Kiersten has also completed the Compassion Cultivation Training – CCT™ an 8-week program, developed at Stanford University, with insights and techniques from psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative practice. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Beans and Pablo.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. Please email us to make sure there is still space at olivia@smithcenter.org.

with Cheryl Shaw

Our February Pop Up Book Club on February 2nd is very popular! We suspect that there will be more to share than an hour can hold so we have extended the Book Club session to 1:30pm. We understand if anyone needs to leave after the hour.

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

For our first session, we will read The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama. On February 2nd, Cheryl Shaw 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 new book.

Pop-Up Book Club will be on the first Thursday of the month from 12:00-1:30pm ET.

  • February 2 (The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama)
  • Future sessions TBD

“When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME’S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2022 • In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.

There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?

Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness.

Get The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times here: https://a.co/d/81gVgwX.

Please let us know if the cost of this book is a barrier for you. A generous donor has offered to gift up to three of them. Books will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis.

About Cheryl Shaw

Cheryl Shaw graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a BS in Sociology and continued her education at Golden Gate University in San Francisco where she studied for her MBA. She has held leadership roles in the nonprofit sector over a 30-year career with KQED Public Broadcasting, Bay Area Black United Fund, United Negro College Fund, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and ADRA International. Her volunteer work includes leading mission trips to support vulnerable populations to provide hope and resources during their time of need while a ministry leader in her home church. She currently serves as a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Metropolitan DC Chapter to empower Black women and girls towards financial stability and as a member of the Cancer Support Center DC – Community Engagement Advisory Council as they build a new facility to provide resources for support and treatment to those affected by cancer in Metro DC. As an entrepreneur, she created and developed the first African American women-owned art gallery in the Pacific Northwest and is now a top-producing Realtor in the Metro DC market. Cheryl currently serves as the Director of Individual and Corporate Gifts at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, is a two-time breast cancer survivor, an advocate of early detection, a mother of two, and a grandmother of two. She currently resides in Washington DC.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

Register for 4-session series here: https://smithcenter.org/programs-retreat/pop-up-book-club-6-9/

with Carla Stillwagon, Kiersten Gallagher & Erin Price

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

For our first sessions, we will read Radical Acts of Love: How we find hope at the end of life by Janie Brown, a dear friend of Smith Center. Please read below for an overview of her powerful work on hope and dying.

Pop-Up Book Club will meet bi-monthly on Tuesdays in June and July, from 12:00-1:00pm.

  • Part 1: June 9
  • Part 2: June 23
  • Part 3: July 7
  • Part 4: July 21

Radical Acts of Love: How we find hope at the end of life

In Radical Acts of Love, Janie Brown, oncology nurse of thirty years and counsellor of cancer patients with terminal diagnoses, recounts twenty conversations she has had with the dying; including those personally close to her. Each conversation uncovers a different perspective and experience of death, while at the same time exploring its universalities.

As well as offering an extremely sensitive and wise insight into our final moments, Brown offers practical ways to facilitate the shift from feeling helpless about death to feeling hopeful; from fear to acceptance; from feeling disconnected and alone, to becoming part of the wider, collective story of our mortality.

Get Radical Acts of Love: How we find hope at the end of life here: https://smile.amazon.com/Radical-Acts-Love-Find-Hope-ebook/dp/B07XFFK9XB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=radical+acts+of+love&qid=1589894908&sr=8-1

And, choose “Smith Center for Healing and the Arts” as your nonprofit of choice when you shop through Amazon Smile!


About Carla Stillwagon

Carla serves as the Cancer Support Program & Retreat Coordinator at Smith Center. During her time at the center, Carla has been inspired to further develop her commitment to the arts and their invaluable role in healing and community. She is excited to share her favorite pastime, reading, in this group and hopes to hear all about your favorite things to read!

About Kiersten Gallagher

As the Cancer Support Program Director, Kiersten fully believes that through the arts we can expand our perspectives and explore new fulfilling ways of being. She invites you to make our space your own refuge, to circumvent your daily routine to spark creativity, to take time for introspection, and draw outside the lines.

About Erin Price, LICSW

Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.