Reading Corner | Essay collection aims to help with better living

“Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do, Stories of Living Divided No More” is a collection of essays “quilted together” by 21 individuals who have worked with the Circle of Trust and participated in one or more of their retreats. These various perspectives on how to integrate oneself — live a life that is the same both at work and outside of the work environment — form a collection of hope for those who are struggling with these issues.

In fact, its metaphor for the essay grouping, “a quilt, quilted together” alludes to its purpose of providing comfort through opening the mind of the reader to specific steps that can lead to a better way of living daily life. The entire quilt provides comfort, and individual “squares” or essays may be the catalyst for our own life improvement. The purpose of the book is to understand how to integrate our philosophies with our actions and help others do so as agents of change. Each author from the Circle of Trust shares how he or she came to live in a way that allows their own voice to be heard unfettered by the academic language and forms of the world. You can learn more about the group Circle of Trust at the website www.stilllearning.org.

Dr. Sally Z. Hare, distinguished professor emerita at Coastal Carolina University and its Center for Education and Community, is president of still learning inc. Hare has been working with Courage to Teach, based on the philosophy of Parker J. Palmer, with teachers all over the country. She is a senior facilitator of the national Center for Courage and Renewal. Hare lives in Surfside Beach with her husband, Jim Rogers, and two dogs. She has written several other books for adults and children, and also teaches at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. (Visit www.coastal.edu/olli for more information on when her next class will be available.) Megan Le Boutillier is an artist with a doctorate in creative nonfiction.

In explaining what is meant by the Circle of Trust, the editors explain their outlook. “We are born fully formed with everything we need — our seeds of a true self, our birthright gifts, our temperament, we come to a sense of connectedness to everything around us. And then the deformation beings.” Learning to reform ourselves is the goal. You may want to read it with a notebook in hand or at least a pen to make notes in the margins. I made my first mark on page three — the introduction: “We know that words matter — and we are naming and reclaiming language throughout our stories.”

The back of the book contains a glossary of key words and phrases as they are defined with the special meanings given to them by this group. I recommend reading that section before starting on the essays so that you can understand all of the layers of meaning given. While the book is especially important for teachers, I think, the book is good for anyone who feels that his or her everyday life is somewhat “out of synch” with the inner self.

I related best to the essay “Fill As You Pour” as an especially important concept for caregivers. Marian David describes how the ocean has guided her on her journey to becoming a servant leader and learning how to “establish an island of peace” within her own soul. She says she is in a “divine tryst with the ocean.”

If you “connect” with the message of any of the authors, the end of essay bio provides contact information, as well as documentation of this person’s background. Many of the authors have credentials in counseling, professional development, workshop facilitation, training and leading retreats.

A few of the essays seemed a bit long and repetitious to me. To be fair, it could be that a style that did not resonate with me may do so for you. One of the reasons for including so many authors in the book is to accommodate a variety of styles to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Read this book bit by bit, not all at once. The book is an ambitious and deep undertaking, and requires close reading. It’s serious, thoughtful reading that will help you find the way to your inner self, find your true self and talents, and be able to live that true self in a consistent manner at home, at work, wherever you may be. Enjoy.

Joan Leotta, For The Sun News

Students win place in book with Pat Conroy

Two Grand Strand students have had their writings published in a book by the University of South Carolina Press.

Alicia Davenport of Little River and Emily Moore of Murrells Inlet, along with 21 other students from across the state, present their literary talent and problem-solving skills in “Writing South Carolina: Selections from the First High School Writing Contest.”

Pat Conroy, New York Times best-selling author, wrote the foreword for the book and was grand judge of the contest. Steven Lynn, dean of the S.C. Honors College, created the contest that inspired the book and wrote the introduction. The annual contest, sponsored by the Honors College and USC Press, is open to all high school juniors and seniors in the state.

Davenport, a graduate of North Myrtle Beach High School, is the daughter of Rebecca and Gregory Davenport. Moore, a senior at Horry County Schools’ Scholars Academy, is the daughter of Paula and Timothy Moore. They submitted essays written in response to the contest’s topic, “How can we improve the state of South Carolina?” Their second pieces of writing, impromptu essays, were written during the competition’s second round at the USC campus in Columbia.

“Writing South Carolina” is available through local libraries, booksellers, online bookstores and directly from the publisher, 800-768-2500 or www.uscpress.com. The cost is $14.95.

This story was originally published May 2, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Reading Corner | Essay collection aims to help with better living."