Tag: Reading

This program is being offered in a virtual format. In order to participate, please visit this link.

with Maimah Karmo (hosted by the Tigerlily Foundation)

Please Note: This program is being hosted by our partner, the Tigerlily Foundation. Registration can be done through their website.

On Monday, August 5th from 8-9:30PM EST, join Tigerlily Foundation founder, Maimah Karmo, for a special one evening book review and discussion of her autobiography, Fearless: Awakening to My Life’s Purpose Through Breast Cancer.

Book Synopsis: One woman’s memoir of getting a cancer diagnosis at age thirty-two—and how rediscovering her faith in God carried her through to a second chance at life.

A breast cancer diagnosis at age thirty-two left Maimah Karmo’s world shattered. She was the survivor of civil unrest in Liberia, a college-educated corporate professional, and a dedicated mother to her daughter—breast cancer was not part of the plan. How could this happen?

With the help of family and friends, Maimah uncovered her own strength, rediscovered her faith in God, and navigated a completely foreign medical world. Through this struggle to reclaim her body and her soul, she learned what was truly important in life—and she didn’t stop there. During recovery, Maimah took a leap of faith and founded the Tigerlily Foundation, an organization that supports young women before, during, and after breast cancer. She had lived through her own journey; now she wanted to help others do the same. This inspiring account covers Maimah’s journey through an exceptional childhood to her experience with cancer that would change her life forever. It is not only a story of love and determination, but also of what can happen when you are given a second chance at life. Fearless illustrates that even when a situation appears to be impossible, true faith—in yourself, in God, and in those you love—will lead you toward the life you always wanted, the life you have a reason to fight for.

This program is being offered in a virtual format. In order to participate, please visit this link.

with Catrina Marcell (hosted by the Tigerlily Foundation)

Please Note: This program is being hosted by our partner, the Tigerlily Foundation. Registration can be done through their website.

This book club will be hosted every Wednesday at 8pm EST from August 21 – September 25 (5 weeks)

This course is designed to create a supportive and enriching environment where members can explore the transformative effect to try new things by stories and community. This book club session will delve into a selected book that resonate with themes of resilience, courage, and personal growth. Through guided discussions, Catrina will share insights from her own journey, fostering a deeper connection with the literature and encouraging participants to share their perspectives. Whether you are a seasoned reader or new to book clubs, this course offers a welcoming space to discover new narratives, reflect on personal experiences, and find strength in shared stories. Join us to connect, learn, and be inspired by the resilience found within the pages of great books.

Recommended audience:  patients, survivors, caretakers

*Participants are responsible for their own copy of the book.

Book Title: I Did a New Thing – 30 Days of Living Free

Author: Tabitha Brown

—

About Catrina Marcell

Catrina Marcell is a passionate advocate and survivor of triple-negative breast cancer, bringing her resilience and insight for the next upcoming book club. Her journey through cancer has instilled in her a profound appreciation for the power of stories and community, which she now shares with anyone she meets. With a background that combines personal experience and a love for literature, Catrina creates a supportive and enriching environment for all participants. Join her in exploring the transformative power of books and discover new perspectives in our engaging and inclusive book club sessions.

This program is being offered in a virtual format. In order to participate, 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 The Power of Meaning – Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness by Emily Esfahani Smith and on August 13th, Kiersten Gallagher 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. You are welcome to join even if you have not read the book.

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

Please read below for a description of the book from Amazon below:

In a culture obsessed with happiness, this wise, stirring book points the way toward a richer, more satisfying life.

Too many of us believe that the search for meaning is an esoteric pursuit—that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to discover life’s secrets. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us—right here, right now.

To explore how we can craft lives of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith synthesizes a kaleidoscopic array of sources—from psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists to figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, and the Buddha. Drawing on this research, Smith shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery can immeasurably deepen our lives.

To bring what she calls the four pillars of meaning to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and more. She also introduces us to compelling seekers of meaning—from the drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit to the artist who draws on her Hindu upbringing to create arresting photographs. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning.

Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a life that matters.

Get a copy of The Power of Meaning <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 facilitating yoga, visual arts, and writing programs at Smith Center 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; Compassion Cultivation Training – CCT™ an 8-week program developed at Stanford University, with insights and techniques from psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative practice; Mind Over Matter a 5-session program that uses evidence based strategies to help decrease feelings of anxiety and depression and increase a sense of well-being, and she is also a certified herbalist and holds her Reiki Level One certification. She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. 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, dogs Pablo and Beans, and turtle Chip.

This program is being offered in a hybrid format (both in-person and virtual). In order to participate, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing olivia@smithcenter.org. If you plan to attend in-person, please let us know.

with Elizabeth McGowan

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

We will read Outpedaling “The Big C:” My Healing Cycle Across America by Pulitzer Prize Winner Elizabeth McGowan and on April 9th, she 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. You are welcome to join even if you have not read the book. Please read below for a description of the book.

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

Elizabeth McGowan lost her father to melanoma when he was forty-four and she was fifteen. She rediscovered him during a bike ride across the US, following her battle with the same disease. Joyful, introspective, terrifying, and sobering, her memoir is about reconciling her mortality with her father’s.

In the spring of 2000, McGowan marked five years of remission. Her intensive, eleven-year battle with cancer began just after she graduated from college. Her cross-country ride was undertaken, most often, alone; she sent journal entries home from local libraries and mailed home rolls of film. While riding, she made casual, unexpected connections with other survivors; some gave her checks, a bed for the night, a new story, or a tip for the road.

Transitions between the bike trip and McGowan’s childhood are seamless. She recalls her explosive and complex father, as well as her own health challenges. She experiences hospitality and kindness via little gestures that magnify human connections. As she moves through the Grand Tetons and across Yellowstone, American authors, including William Least Heat-Moon, William Stegner, and Edward Abbey, move with her; and American history informs the way she sees and understands the landscape and its people.

McGowan digs into the past to make sense of her present, and her reflections are frank and unsentimental. She sees both herself and her father with brilliant clarity, acknowledging the traits that both impeded their progress and made progress possible. She argues against the rhetoric of war that surrounds cancer and acknowledges her own fears and reluctance to engage in further testing.

Outpedaling “The Big C“ journeys through illness and America, viewing the ability to put one foot in front of the other as a gift. McGowan makes sense of her circumstances and develops strength across her powerful, 4,250-mile bicycle trip. (“Oupedaling” review by Camille-Yvette Welsch)

Get Outpedaling “The Big C” <HERE>

Address:

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts

1632 U Street NW

Washington, DC 20009

About Elizabeth McGowan

Elizabeth H. McGowan is an award-winning energy and environment reporter based in Washington, D.C. since 2001. Now a freelancer, her main gig since 2019 has been covering Virginia’s transition to clean energy for the Energy News Network. As a staff writer for startup InsideClimate News, her groundbreaking dispatches from Kalamazoo, Michigan, “The Dilbit Disaster: Inside the Biggest Oil Spill You Never Heard Of” earned her team a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2013. An e-book version of the narrative won the Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists. McGowan’s freelance articles have appeared in Grist, Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Yale Environment 360, A.T. Journeys (Appalachian Trail magazine) and multiple other publications. For the last year, she has written reviews of nature and health books for the Washington Independent Review of Books. McGowan began her journalism career at daily newspapers in Vermont and Wisconsin.

Her adventure memoir, “Outpedaling ‘The Big C’: My Healing Cycle Across America” was just released by Bancroft Press. She takes readers on the rollicking, introspective and sobering 4,250-mile ride she organized as a hospital fundraiser after surviving an 11-year saga with melanoma. That journey helped her rediscover her father, who had died of the same type of cancer at age 44, when McGowan was 15. Learn more: @ehmcgowanNEWS and https://elizabethmcgowan-author.com/

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 Brandi Rose

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

We will read The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Dr. Gabor Maté & Daniel Maté and on February 27th, Brandi Rose 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.

By the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and healing.

In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?

Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the prevailing understanding of “normal” as false, neglecting the roles that trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on our bodies and our minds at the expense of good health. For all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. Now Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society—and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. Co-written with his son Daniel, The Myth of Normal is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.

Get The Myth of Normal <HERE>

About Brandi Rose (Artist-in-Residence Program Manager)

Brandi was thrilled to join Smith Center for Healing and the Arts as the new AIR Program Manager for Inova Fairfax in April 2023. In 2000, she received a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Music Education from James Madison University. After working for several years as a music educator, she transitioned to arts management with a focus on arts education. During her career, she worked for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Washington National Opera, and the Smithsonian Associates. In 2009, Brandi received a Masters in Arts Management with a specialization in Arts in Youth and Community Development from Columbia College Chicago. Upon her return to the DC area she spent nine years as the Program Director at Arts for the Aging, a local nonprofit providing multidisciplinary arts engagement workshops to older adults in senior care facilities and community settings. In 2021 she received a Graduate Certificate in Arts in Medicine from the University of Florida. In her spare time Brandi performs with Capital Blend, DC’s premiere all-female a cappella group.

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, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Carla Stillwagon, Kiersten Gallagher and Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times - Cancer Book Club

Welcome to “Read with Smith Center,” a community of book lovers diving in to current and relevant book material.

For our February and March sessions, we will be reading The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams.

Read the description from bookshop.org: 

 

In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?

Looking at the headlines–the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval–it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.

 

In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her Four Reasons for Hope: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.

 

Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.

 

While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure.

 

We will discuss the book in two parts on February 1st, 2022 and March 1st, 2022. Register to receive the break-down of pages to have prepared for each session. Please join us for a lively discussion, no matter how much or little of the book you have read.

Get “The Book of Hope” here:

Read with Smith Center will meet Monthly on the 1st Tuesday from 12:00-1:00pm.

Upcoming Dates: 

  • February 1 – The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, Pages 1-109 (I. What is Hope? and Reasons 1 & 2)
  • March 1 – The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, Pages 111-234 (Reasons 3 & 4 and Conclusion)
  • April 5 (TBD)
  • May 3 (TBD)

Click here to choose Smith Center for Healing and the Arts as your charity of choice when you shop on Amazon Smile!

About Carla Stillwagon

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

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, OSW-C

Erin Price

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.