Nonfiction4Life

From Mary Pipher, bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia, we now get Women Rowing North, a guide to wisdom and authenticity for women as they age. Cultural therapist Pipher, age 71, understands how women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, grief, and loss. Yet her message is clear and hopeful: most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their very struggles help them let go of stereotypes and grow into authentic, wise, and empathetic women.

Pipher's own life and her many roles have schooled her in ways women can cultivate resilient responses to their challenges. "If we can keep our wits about us," she writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent."

00:15 Intro to Mary Pipher, author of Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age

00:50 Other books by Pipher: Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other, and Another Country

01:45 Chooses the metaphor of “rowing north” as a bookend to Reviving Ophelia

02:20 Younger and older women all live with cultural stereotypes and scripts

03:30 What does it mean to be old?

04:00 All of Pipher’s books stem from a deep curiosity about her own life

04:20 “Young" old age” vs. “old" old age

05:40 Women 65-75 are the happiest people in America

06:15 Most women deny being old in order to distance selves from cultural script and stories

07:20 Older women tend to be social connectors and experience a time of tremendous growth

08:00 Age can be a source of happiness, bliss, and satisfaction

08:30 Choosing happiness—a skill set often found among women in 70s

10:30 Jane Jarvis, musical prodigy (pianist), had everything she needed to be happy right between her ears

12:00 Age brings changes in body image, social invisibility, and loss of abilities

12:45 How women can reclaim their power

13:00 Story of Michelle Obama’s mother coming to live in the White House

13:45 Exploding the tired, old mother-in-law myth

14:45 "Solutions can’t be legislated; they come from the human heart."

15:15 Female friends give women power and support

15:45 Older women can rescue themselves using decades of practice fighting back against negative messaging

17:00 The power of saying “No” (walking out of any situation we don’t want to be in)

17:45 The power of saying “Yes” (instead of stilling the inner voice)

18:15 Taught to be “good girls” instead of learning to take care of ourselves

19:30 Finding a healthy approach to caregiving, which is very hard work

21:10 Contradictory research on caregiving

21:40 Caregivers need respite and creative strategies for bringing friends into the home

23:50 Keeping connections as lifelines

24:50 True secret of happiness is managing expectations

25:30 Defining happiness on your own terms

26:50 Old age is catalytic for growth

27:00 Suffering increases capacity for bliss, gratitude, empathy, moral imagination, and authenticity

28:30 Stories of resilience, gratitude, and perspective

30:40 How to lean into lessons of suffering without denial

31:20  Taking a gentle approach to our own pain and suffering

31:50 “All of us keep so many appointments we did not make, but we always have choices about how to reframe those experiences.”

32:00 Crafting resplendent narratives: we can’t have a better history, but we can have a better story

32:30 Older women tend to joke around very well and unselfconscious about their bodies

34:20 Time (the most valuable resource of all) = wealth

35:50 Many older women happy because, for the first time in their lives, they can do what they want with their time

36:50 Women becoming intentional moral storytellers for their families

41:00 A great gift of old age: the long view of family and a lifetime

41:55 Blessing of old age: the freedom to be honest

43:30 Small things can bring enormous joy

44:15  Book contains discussions of death, loneliness, and more

44:50 Recommendation: The Trip to Bountiful (1985 movie)

BUY Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age

MORE BOOKS BY MARY PIPHER
BUY Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls
BUY The Shelter of Each Other
BUY Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders

RECOMMENDATION 

BUY The Trip To Bountiful (movie)

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• Music Credit
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On a dare from his son, author A.J. Jacobs set out to thank everyone who contributed to bringing him a cup of coffee. The result is his book, "Thanks A Thousand," and a TEDTalk viewed by more than a million people. Jacobs's "Gratitude Journey," a timely exploration of our interconnectedness, illustrates our need to eschew tribalism and recognize the staggering number of people who make our everyday lives wonderful. 

00:15   Intro to A.J. Jacobs, author of Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey

01:15   Jacobs finds the Nonfiction4Life podcast expensive—buying books we feature!

01:45   Story begins with a cup of coffee and morphs into a high-adventure journey

02:15   Jacobs, an immersive journalist, likes to dive deeply into his studies

02:30   Learns of psychological and physical benefits of gratitude, and gives it a try

02:45   Rather than thanking God, Jacobs offers prayers of gratitude to helpful people

03:45   Begins thanking over 1000 people involved in making his morning cup of coffee possible

04:45   “Deceptively simple quest”

05:15   His quest supports the gratitude research, improving many aspects of his life

05:55   Our brains divided: pessimistic, cynical, (“Larry David”) side vs. optimistic, positive (“Mr. Rogers”) side

06:45   Gratitude a practice that doesn’t tend to come naturally; negative bias gets in the way

08:00   Notices hundreds of things that need to “go right” to produce a cup of coffee

09:20   People who say, “I am grateful” (vs. “Thank you”) perceived as more genuinely grateful

10:00   Recommends including details in words of appreciation, especially in thank you notes

11:30   Making someone else’s day gives him a dopamine boost

12:15   His grumpiness abated by expressing gratitude

12:45   “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”

14:10   Loves the genuine passion some have for their jobs (e.g., coffee lid inventor)

16:05   His family welcome the personal transformation in Jacobs

17:10   Now a “gratitude extremist” – makes kids thank Amazon “Alexa”

18:45   “Almost everything good in the world is the result of teamwork.”

19:00   As a writer, would have liked to add many names to the cover of his book

20:15   Responsibility bias – we like to (falsely) credit just one person

21:00   “Lead singer bias” applies to marriage

22:15   Connectedness becomes increasingly important to Jacobs

22:30   Replaces “YOLO” with “WOLO" - being aware of others

22:30   Jacobs’s book, It’s All Relative, also includes the theme of connectedness

24:50   Counters tribalism: "There’s just US!"

26:15   Nobody too opposed to being thanked

27:00   Start being grateful by following the gratitude trail

27:30   Small acts help: looking people in the eye to thank them

28:15   Technology, with its pros and cons, can making thanking people easier

29:15   Personal thanks can be emotionally rewarding (e.g., write a letter; read it aloud)

30:30   Examines how gender affects gratitude

31:30   We underestimate how meaningful being thanked can be, and we underestimate how awkward it can be

33:00   End of the book includes a list of the 1000+ people he thanks

33:30   What Jacobs might do differently the next time

35:00   Janet receives two separate notes of gratitude for the Nonfiction4Life podcast

35:30   How to leave a podcast review

36:20   Recommendation: Shari’s Berries (free printable thank you notes and 85 ways to say “Thank you”)

BUY Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey (TED Books)

Watch A.J. Jacobs deliver his now-famous TEDTalk with over 1 million views!

Other books by A.J. Jacobs:

BUY The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

BUY It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree 

Get free printable thank you notes from Shari’s Berries  

Connect with Nonfiction4Life!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

On a dare from his son, author A.J. Jacobs set out to thank everyone who contributed to bringing him a cup of coffee. The result is his book, "Thanks A Thousand," and a TEDTalk viewed by more than a million people. Jacobs's "Gratitude Journey," a timely exploration of our interconnectedness, illustrates our need to eschew tribalism and recognize the staggering number of people who make our everyday lives wonderful. 

00:15   Intro to A.J. Jacobs, author of Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey

01:15   Jacobs finds the Nonfiction4Life podcast expensive—buying books we feature!

01:45   Story begins with a cup of coffee and morphs into a high-adventure journey

02:15   Jacobs, an immersive journalist, likes to dive deeply into his studies

02:30   Learns of psychological and physical benefits of gratitude, and gives it a try

02:45   Rather than thanking God, Jacobs offers prayers of gratitude to helpful people

03:45   Begins thanking over 1000 people involved in making his morning cup of coffee possible

04:45   “Deceptively simple quest”

05:15   His quest supports the gratitude research, improving many aspects of his life

05:55   Our brains divided: pessimistic, cynical, (“Larry David”) side vs. optimistic, positive (“Mr. Rogers”) side

06:45   Gratitude a practice that doesn’t tend to come naturally; negative bias gets in the way

08:00   Notices hundreds of things that need to “go right” to produce a cup of coffee

09:20   People who say, “I am grateful” (vs. “Thank you”) perceived as more genuinely grateful

10:00   Recommends including details in words of appreciation, especially in thank you notes

11:30   Making someone else’s day gives him a dopamine boost

12:15   His grumpiness abated by expressing gratitude

12:45   “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”

14:10   Loves the genuine passion some have for their jobs (e.g., coffee lid inventor)

16:05   His family welcome the personal transformation in Jacobs

17:10   Now a “gratitude extremist” – makes kids thank Amazon “Alexa”

18:45   “Almost everything good in the world is the result of teamwork.”

19:00   As a writer, would have liked to add many names to the cover of his book

20:15   Responsibility bias – we like to (falsely) credit just one person

21:00   “Lead singer bias” applies to marriage

22:15   Connectedness becomes increasingly important to Jacobs

22:30   Replaces “YOLO” with “WOLO" - being aware of others

22:30   Jacobs’s book, It’s All Relative, also includes the theme of connectedness

24:50   Counters tribalism: "There’s just US!"

26:15   Nobody too opposed to being thanked

27:00   Start being grateful by following the gratitude trail

27:30   Small acts help: looking people in the eye to thank them

28:15   Technology, with its pros and cons, can making thanking people easier

29:15   Personal thanks can be emotionally rewarding (e.g., write a letter; read it aloud)

30:30   Examines how gender affects gratitude

31:30   We underestimate how meaningful being thanked can be, and we underestimate how awkward it can be

33:00   End of the book includes a list of the 1000+ people he thanks

33:30   What Jacobs might do differently the next time

35:00   Janet receives two separate notes of gratitude for the Nonfiction4Life podcast

35:30   How to leave a podcast review

36:20   Recommendation: Shari’s Berries (free printable thank you notes and 85 ways to say “Thank you”)

BUY Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey (TED Books)

Watch A.J. Jacobs deliver his now-famous TEDTalk with over 1 million views!

Other books by A.J. Jacobs:

BUY The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

BUY It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree 

Get free printable thank you notes from Shari’s Berries  

Connect with Nonfiction4Life!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

Dr. Victoria Sweet intended to stay at Laguna Honda, America's last-standing almshouse, for only a couple months, but she stayed for 20 years! Now, she's captured her stories and observations in her book, God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine. Today, her experience with the sick poor at Laguna Honda continues to profoundly influence the way she perceives, patients, doctors, hospitals, and medicine.

00:15  Intro to Dr. Victoria Sweet, author of God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine

00:30   Sweet lays out a radical approach to healthcare

01:15   God’s Hotel is the predecessor to Sweet’s second book, Slow Medicine

02:10   Sweet practices at Laguna Honda, a hospital in the middle of San Francisco that looked like a medieval monastery

03:30   Laguna Honda, the last U.S. almshouse for the sick poor, predates health insurance

04:00   Monks and nuns took care of the sick poor as part of their vocation

05:50   Sweet stays at Laguna Honda for 20 years!

06:30   Sweet, an intellectual, moves from Jungian psychology to medicine

06:55   Effective modern medicine methods juxtaposed to deficits in doctor-patient relationship

08:10   Open wards with nurses allow time for good physical exams, understanding patient history

09:00   Slowing time down becomes critical to healing

09:30   Medieval writer Hildegard becomes Sweet’s primary mentor and medical muse

10:00   During her Ph.D. program, Sweet “meets” Hildegard, a 12th-century nun, abbess, mystic, theologian, and medical practitioner

11:00   The body as a plant vs. a machine; the doctor as a gardener vs. a mechanic

12:00   Split in views between good and evil

13:00   Modern medicine assumes the doctor is a healthcare provider, implying healthcare is a commodity and patient is a consumer

14:20   While the doctor examines the patient, the patient is examining the doctor

16:10   Doctors spend the same amount of time they’ve always spent with patients, but time is now used differently

16:30   Doctor-patient time together down just 2.5 minutes, but doctor spends far less time looking at the patient and far more time logging data into a computer

18:15   Electronic medical records - “a disaster”

18:30   Losing continuity with patients

20:15   The efficiency of inefficiency (e.g., Christmas Day gift exchange)

23:15   Terri Becker’s severe, hopeless story inspires Sweet to write God’s Hotel

24:30   Terri’s bedsores, “as big as your head,” take 2.5 years to heal

26:30   Nondemanding love at Laguna Honda allows patients to heal emotionally and physically

27:45   Sweet learns to remove what’s in the way of body’s own natural healing powers

28:15   Medieval approach: allow “Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman” to heal a patient

30:40   Recommendation: Yoga for Beginners (DVDs by Element)

BUY God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine
BUY Slow Medicine: The Way to Healing

BUY Element: Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility
BUY Element: Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners
BUY Element: AM & PM Yoga For Beginners

Connect with us!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

Dr. Victoria Sweet intended to stay at Laguna Honda, America's last-standing almshouse, for only a couple months, but she stayed for 20 years! Now, she's captured her stories and observations in her book, God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine. Today, her experience with the sick poor at Laguna Honda continues to profoundly influence the way she perceives, patients, doctors, hospitals, and medicine.

00:15  Intro to Dr. Victoria Sweet, author of God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine

00:30   Sweet lays out a radical approach to healthcare

01:15   God’s Hotel is the predecessor to Sweet’s second book, Slow Medicine

02:10   Sweet practices at Laguna Honda, a hospital in the middle of San Francisco that looked like a medieval monastery

03:30   Laguna Honda, the last U.S. almshouse for the sick poor, predates health insurance

04:00   Monks and nuns took care of the sick poor as part of their vocation

05:50   Sweet stays at Laguna Honda for 20 years!

06:30   Sweet, an intellectual, moves from Jungian psychology to medicine

06:55   Effective modern medicine methods juxtaposed to deficits in doctor-patient relationship

08:10   Open wards with nurses allow time for good physical exams, understanding patient history

09:00   Slowing time down becomes critical to healing

09:30   Medieval writer Hildegard becomes Sweet’s primary mentor and medical muse

10:00   During her Ph.D. program, Sweet “meets” Hildegard, a 12th-century nun, abbess, mystic, theologian, and medical practitioner

11:00   The body as a plant vs. a machine; the doctor as a gardener vs. a mechanic

12:00   Split in views between good and evil

13:00   Modern medicine assumes the doctor is a healthcare provider, implying healthcare is a commodity and patient is a consumer

14:20   While the doctor examines the patient, the patient is examining the doctor

16:10   Doctors spend the same amount of time they’ve always spent with patients, but time is now used differently

16:30   Doctor-patient time together down just 2.5 minutes, but doctor spends far less time looking at the patient and far more time logging data into a computer

18:15   Electronic medical records - “a disaster”

18:30   Losing continuity with patients

20:15   The efficiency of inefficiency (e.g., Christmas Day gift exchange)

23:15   Terri Becker’s severe, hopeless story inspires Sweet to write God’s Hotel

24:30   Terri’s bedsores, “as big as your head,” take 2.5 years to heal

26:30   Nondemanding love at Laguna Honda allows patients to heal emotionally and physically

27:45   Sweet learns to remove what’s in the way of body’s own natural healing powers

28:15   Medieval approach: allow “Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman” to heal a patient

30:40   Recommendation: Yoga for Beginners (DVDs by Element)

BUY God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine
BUY Slow Medicine: The Way to Healing

BUY Element: Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility
BUY Element: Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners
BUY Element: AM & PM Yoga For Beginners

Connect with us!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

We've taken a departure from nonfiction books to curate "Just 3" digital sources for nonfiction learning. With literally thousands of options, both free and paid, you're sure to find many topics that pique your interest. Here's to a Happy New Year full of learning! 

00:20   Point yourself toward the New Year with nonfiction in mind

00:30   Just 3 sources for nonfiction books and learning

00:40   2010 study by Kaiser Family Foundation underscores the importance of nonfiction

01:10   How much leisure time does the average U.S. child spend reading nonfiction?

01:40   Future requires research skills, including exposure to nonfiction information

02:00   Common Core requires high school seniors spend 70 percent of their school reading time on informational nonfiction material

02:30   Influence young people by getting them excited about nonfiction you’re reading

02:45   Just 3 sources for nonfiction books and learning include free, hybrid, and paid models

03:05   “The Great Courses”: found on RB Digital, a free library app with “Education” button

03:30   30-minute video modules covering history, science, food & wine, health & nutrition, etc.

04:00   Skillshare: unlimited access to more than 25K online classes (paid or free)

04:30   Topics include animation, photography, leadership, productivity, web development, etc.

04:45   Blinkist: paid subscription service to help you stay ahead of new nonfiction releases

05:05   Read or listen to experts provide 15-minute book summaries with key takeaways from bestselling nonfiction

05:25   Blinkist adds 40 new titles every month

06:00   Give one more gift this season: Recommend Nonfiction4Life to a friend!

Get free access to THE GREAT COURSES through your library’s RBDigital app

Sign up for SKILLSHARE to fuel your creativity and career

Subscribe to BLINKIST for summaries of current nonfiction titles

Connect with us social media!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

We've taken a departure from nonfiction books to curate "Just 3" digital sources for nonfiction learning. With literally thousands of options, both free and paid, you're sure to find many topics that pique your interest. Here's to a Happy New Year full of learning! 

00:20   Point yourself toward the New Year with nonfiction in mind

00:30   Just 3 sources for nonfiction books and learning

00:40   2010 study by Kaiser Family Foundation underscores the importance of nonfiction

01:10   How much leisure time does the average U.S. child spend reading nonfiction?

01:40   Future requires research skills, including exposure to nonfiction information

02:00   Common Core requires high school seniors spend 70 percent of their school reading time on informational nonfiction material

02:30   Influence young people by getting them excited about nonfiction you’re reading

02:45   Just 3 sources for nonfiction books and learning include free, hybrid, and paid models

03:05   “The Great Courses”: found on RB Digital, a free library app with “Education” button

03:30   30-minute video modules covering history, science, food & wine, health & nutrition, etc.

04:00   Skillshare: unlimited access to more than 25K online classes (paid or free)

04:30   Topics include animation, photography, leadership, productivity, web development, etc.

04:45   Blinkist: paid subscription service to help you stay ahead of new nonfiction releases

05:05   Read or listen to experts provide 15-minute book summaries with key takeaways from bestselling nonfiction

05:25   Blinkist adds 40 new titles every month

06:00   Give one more gift this season: Recommend Nonfiction4Life to a friend!

Get free access to THE GREAT COURSES through your library’s RBDigital app

Sign up for SKILLSHARE to fuel your creativity and career

Subscribe to BLINKIST for summaries of current nonfiction titles

Connect with us social media!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

First-time author Phyllis Lawson tells the story of her black heritage in Quilt of Souls, a memoir of growing up as a child in the South during the 50s. Sent to Alabama at age four to live indefinitely with her maternal grandparents she'd never known, Lawson is one of "grandma's other babies. Fortunately, Grandma Lula's quilts and family stories bring healing.

00:15   Intro to Phyllis Lawson, author of Quilt of Souls 

01:15   As one of “grandma’s other babies,” Lawson sent to Alabama to live with grandparents

01:45   Family part of the “Great Black Migration” in the 40s and 50s, seeking fortune in North

03:00   Typical of African-American families to send “extra” children away

04:30   Migration causes “very, very extended” family to live together just to get by

05:15   Lawson aches for mother, then meets “Miss Lula” (grandmother) for the first time

06:00   Grandma Lula gives Lawson lots of attention and warmth

06:50   She uses a special “quilt of souls” to warm and comfort young Phyllis

08:50   After hungering for maternal love, her mother arrives but Lawson fears being taken from her grandmother

10:40   Learns how to quilt while also learning family stories

11:15    While quilting, Lula intentionally passes on oral family history so the stories wouldn’t be lost

12:00   Today, Lawson encourages every eldest family member to share stories with the youngest

13:45   Warns of losing stories by either neglecting to talk about them or to listen and record the stories

15:10   In Quilt of Souls, Lawson sprinkles stories of Southern racism

16:05   Lula intentionally stays away from color terms (“black” & “white”); respects all people

16:50   “Don’t ever look at the bad in a person and work backward; look at the good and work forward.”

17:10   When the Ku Klux Klan shows up, Grandma Lula invites them in to eat, averting the capture of a young black boy

18:50   Pecking order among blacks is still a hidden dilemma of the black community

20:20   Fair-skinned blacks don't mind letting people know of their white ancestry

20:55   Mixed genealogy often not discussed (e.g., Miss Hattie)

21:45   Discovers that Miss Hattie, a strong-willed woman, is grandmother’s stepsister stolen in slavery

22:35   Grandma Lula teaches Lawson to love her dark black skin

23:00   Eavesdropping provides an informal education of original-source history lessons in slavery

24:50   Local black school receives “the dreaded Dick and Jane” secondhand books

26:00   Black teachers abandon textbooks; begin teaching kids from the Britannica encyclopedias

27:40   Returns to Detroit public schools; discovers she loves poetry, especially Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred”

28:45   Her mother attends Alabama Teaching College, but she marries, moves to Detroit, and gives up teaching dream for cleaning houses

30:25   Lawson carries her grandparents’ truisms (e.g., “Trouble don’t last always, chile.”)

32:15   The quilt becomes a symbol of more than family history

32:45   How Lawson stays connected to the trauma of past while still looking to a bright future

34:10  Grandma Lula's early, strong foundation later lifts her up and moves her in the right direction

35:00   Ancestors make Lawson who she is and destine her to write their stories

35:15   Unsung, Lawson's next book slated for publication in late 2019

35:45   Recommendation: The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (author and illustrator)

BUY "Quilt of Souls" by Phyllis Lawson
By "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco

Connect with us on social media!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

 Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit

First-time author Phyllis Lawson tells the story of her black heritage in Quilt of Souls, a memoir of growing up as a child in the South during the 50s. Sent to Alabama at age four to live indefinitely with her maternal grandparents she'd never known, Lawson is one of "grandma's other babies. Fortunately, Grandma Lula's quilts and family stories bring healing.

00:15   Intro to Phyllis Lawson, author of Quilt of Souls 

01:15   As one of “grandma’s other babies,” Lawson sent to Alabama to live with grandparents

01:45   Family part of the “Great Black Migration” in the 40s and 50s, seeking fortune in North

03:00   Typical of African-American families to send “extra” children away

04:30   Migration causes “very, very extended” family to live together just to get by

05:15   Lawson aches for mother, then meets “Miss Lula” (grandmother) for the first time

06:00   Grandma Lula gives Lawson lots of attention and warmth

06:50   She uses a special “quilt of souls” to warm and comfort young Phyllis

08:50   After hungering for maternal love, her mother arrives but Lawson fears being taken from her grandmother

10:40   Learns how to quilt while also learning family stories

11:15    While quilting, Lula intentionally passes on oral family history so the stories wouldn’t be lost

12:00   Today, Lawson encourages every eldest family member to share stories with the youngest

13:45   Warns of losing stories by either neglecting to talk about them or to listen and record the stories

15:10   In Quilt of Souls, Lawson sprinkles stories of Southern racism

16:05   Lula intentionally stays away from color terms (“black” & “white”); respects all people

16:50   “Don’t ever look at the bad in a person and work backward; look at the good and work forward.”

17:10   When the Ku Klux Klan shows up, Grandma Lula invites them in to eat, averting the capture of a young black boy

18:50   Pecking order among blacks is still a hidden dilemma of the black community

20:20   Fair-skinned blacks don't mind letting people know of their white ancestry

20:55   Mixed genealogy often not discussed (e.g., Miss Hattie)

21:45   Discovers that Miss Hattie, a strong-willed woman, is grandmother’s stepsister stolen in slavery

22:35   Grandma Lula teaches Lawson to love her dark black skin

23:00   Eavesdropping provides an informal education of original-source history lessons in slavery

24:50   Local black school receives “the dreaded Dick and Jane” secondhand books

26:00   Black teachers abandon textbooks; begin teaching kids from the Britannica encyclopedias

27:40   Returns to Detroit public schools; discovers she loves poetry, especially Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred”

28:45   Her mother attends Alabama Teaching College, but she marries, moves to Detroit, and gives up teaching dream for cleaning houses

30:25   Lawson carries her grandparents’ truisms (e.g., “Trouble don’t last always, chile.”)

32:15   The quilt becomes a symbol of more than family history

32:45   How Lawson stays connected to the trauma of past while still looking to a bright future

34:10  Grandma Lula's early, strong foundation later lifts her up and moves her in the right direction

35:00   Ancestors make Lawson who she is and destine her to write their stories

35:15   Unsung, Lawson's next book slated for publication in late 2019

35:45   Recommendation: The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (author and illustrator)

BUY "Quilt of Souls" by Phyllis Lawson
By "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco

Connect with us on social media!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

 Special thanks…

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Engineering professor and bestselling author Barbara Oakley, PhD, with neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski, PhD, bring us a handbook for Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All your Time Studying. This guide is all you need to tackle your least favorite subject in school or take on that class you’ve been dreading. The authors, also co-instructors of the wildly popular online courses “A Mind for Numbers” and “Mindshift,” share techniques that train our brains to take on the hard stuff. Written for students from grade school to high school, Learning How to Learn breaks down the science of how our brains process and recall information and reveals how to make the most of our studying time.

00:15   Barbara Oakley, author of Learning How to Learn

00:30   Book aimed at the younger set but valuable for all ages

00:55   Oakley teaches the world’s most popular MOOC (massive open online course)

02:05   Shares her story of being a “lopsided learner”

02:30   Liked books but hated math; chalked it up to not having “the math gene”

03:20   Joins Army to study Russian at the Defense Language Institute

03:30   Becomes a Signal Core Officer with no experience in technology

04:50   Learns remedial algebra and eventually becomes a professor of electrical engineering

05:20   “It’s really possible to change your brain!”

06:20   Becoming proficient in video games can improve attention and focus

08:00   Video games (approved by FDA for older adults) improves metabolism

09:20   Small short-term memory improves creativity

11:20   Poor working memory forces us to simplify and compress information

12:45   Taking breaks from learning

13:15   Procrastination common worldwide

13:40   Having to learn something unpleasant activates pain center of the brain

14:00   Using the “Pomodoro” study technique to alternate learning with rewards

15:00   Learning modes: focus vs. diffuse

17:00   Learning new things keeps mind supple and open

17:55   Reading means we always have something to talk about, a way to find commonalities

18:20   Oakley lunches with Cormac McCarthy (Pulitzer author, genius, and true polymath)

19:20   Learning more gives us overlays for what we already know

19:55   Some anxiety accompanying test-taking can be helpful

20:25   Two reasons tests can cause anxiety

22:15   How to move material from the page to our brains (long-term memory)

22:35   The key to good test performance: active practice (recall from our own brains)

24:00   Oakley defines “active learning”

26:00   What’s the best kind of recall practice?

27:15   “Picture Walk”: paging through chapter subheadings & pictures to get a framework

29:30   Forty percent of our brain is visual

30:15   Westerners tend to struggle with math; Easterners tend to struggle with language

30:45   Practice using a variety of methods to build up neural circuits

31:35   Are there any shortcuts to practicing?

33:00   “Eat your frogs first,” a test-taking strategy for attacking hardest problems

36:50   Not getting enough sleep will negate all other efforts to learn

38:15   Sleeping allows brain cells to shrink and have toxins washed away

39:15   Recommendation: Coursera (100% online learning from the world’s best universities and companies); AKA: “MOOCs” – massive open online courses 

BUY Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

For free online learning in almost any subject, check out Coursera.

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