Stay Connected

This past weekend I fed my soul. I joined a book club about 2 years ago and the members of our book club sat together to decide what books we would be reading in 2020. Although our book discussions are done in the homes of our members, the selection of books for the coming year is done at a restaurant. We dub this last meeting of the year ‘chat and chew’. We prayed, we hugged, we laughed, we ate and we talked. We are diverse in our backgrounds which adds to the richness of our discussion and yet we are bonded by the love of books.

In this particular meeting, we brought our list of books that we wanted to read for the New Year. Each member is given one minute to pitch their book choices. At the end, we are given three votes. The books with the highest votes make the list. I am looking forward to reading the five books that were chosen:

Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

You Deserve the Truth: Change the Stories that Shaped Your World and Build a World-Changing Life by Erica Williams Simon

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

If it was not for the book club, I am not sure I would have read any of the fictional books. I spend a lot of time reading my medical journals and when I do read, I am a non-fiction enthusiast.

Joining a book club is good for your health. Reading has been shown to reduce stress, slow down cognitive decline, improve sleep, and boost intelligence. We know that social isolation has been linked to an increase risk of heart attacks and strokes. In a book club, you are not alone.

We are comprised of our body, mind and soul. To be healthy, we need to take care of each part. This past weekend my soul was being fed through fellowship, through the breaking of bread, and through sisterhood.  There are many ways to feed your soul; I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind you to do it.