Valerie Harms

I just learned how to download an audiobook on my iPod from the Library. It is free. Will save me lots of $. I listen to books a lot because they get me through my workouts. The Accursed is an amazing book. It's the first book by JCO that I've taken on and it's stellar in terms of writing and structure. It's got macabre elements for sure but also a lot of figures like Woodrow Wilson, Upton Sinclair, Jack London. The real pestilence is racism.  Read More 

For the month of December I have a special offer on Your Soul at a Crossroads:
Holiday sale: buy one, get second for free. Good til Dec. 31st.

I can't resist hopping in to highly recommend 3 books:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr -- totally gripping literary novel.
The Carry Home by Gary Ferguson -- his moving account of carrying his wife's ashes to 5 beloved wild places.
We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, who won PEN Fiction Award  Read More 

Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie. He combines jokes, myth, poetry, Indian customs, music into this novel inspired by bluesman Robert Johnson.
Demigods on Speedway by my daughter, Aurelie Sheehan, out this month.
Rob Lowe's Love Life. He is a dynamic story teller, compassionate, and devoted family man.

-- order from the appetizer menu or a salad
-- pay no attention to price
-- take 1/2 home of big order
-- eat with an elderly person and see how little they eat
-- chew bite 30 times
-- talk to each person
-- share orders or desserts

While my lifetime mentors have been Ira Progoff and Carl Jung, other authors have stirred my soul. These include: Marie Louise von Franz, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Anais Nin, Robert Bly, David Whyte, James Hillman and more. I highly recommend any of their books.

I'd like to start a discussion on Clarissa Pinkola Estes' works on the crone -- The Power of the Crone and Mother Night. Let me know if you are interested.

Just read Murakami's latest novel and I think its various tributaries provide solace to those who've known unrequited love.

I just edited a friend's novel and here's what she said: I just want to thank you for your careful reading, the very valuable suggestions and editing, and your enthusiastic support for the story as a whole. You're the best! The novel is going to be much improved as a result.

At the suggestion of a friend I've been reading Lament of the Dead, dialogues between Sonu Shamdasani and Jim Hillman on Jung's Red Book. I highly recommend the book as they discuss things we all may have thought about. It's also given me a new perspective on the way forward and thinking less about my personal life and more about connection to my place and time as well as the past. Read More