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October Favorites {2024}

Books, essays, podcasts, films, and more that have prompted me to stop and reflect during the month of October.

1. Special Hope Network.

A joyful scene in a small room with a group of adults and children sitting together on the floor and chairs. Everyone appears engaged, clapping and smiling. Several women wearing vibrant patterned skirts are seated in the foreground, with open books or song sheets on their laps. Behind them, a few people stand, clapping, including a man in a beige shirt and a woman in a dark jacket. Some children sit on the floor or are held by adults, dressed warmly in colorful clothes. The walls are decorated with children’s artwork, and a poster labeled "Songs" is visible on the left. The setting seems to be a community or educational space, fostering an atmosphere of inclusion and warmth.

We have been supporters of Special Hope Network for over a decade now, and we are always excited and grateful to see the work they are doing to proclaim belovedness and envision belonging for families in need of affirmation, care, and support in Zambia.


2. Faithful Presence.

The image shows a split screen with text on the left and a close-up of a woman on the right. The left side has a light green background with the title "FAITH & MEDICINE PART 2" followed by "MEDICINE AND A GOD THAT COMES NEAR," with a subheading "ft. Health Professionals working in Chicago Shelters." Below this, there are two buttons: "Discussion Guide (PDF)" and "Give Us Feedback." Social media icons are also present at the bottom. The right side features a woman with short curly hair, glasses, and a serious expression, wearing a green coat, with a play button overlay indicating the image is part of a video.

What if young people believed that they could make a real difference in the world through their work? What if they could use their education and connections and passions and gifts for real good? Faithful Presence is helping our young adults envision a way of pursuing work that has meaning and serves the common good. Here’s their first round of videos.


3. A Fancy New Restaurant in London, Staffed by the Recently Homeless.A view of the kitchen, with food laid out in stainless steel trays and chefs in aprons at work. In one corner a woman is cutting lemons.

I love stories like this, where a successful restaurateur conceives of a way to employ people experiencing homelessness. There are so many details that speak to the possibilities we have as humans—the founder had his own experience of need due to a cocaine addiction. He set up the restaurant as a first step towards a culinary degree. And the food sounds delicious. It’s a little glimpse of the way an economy based on our common humanity could work and bring blessing.


Two essays about abortion.

Two things get lost in the midst of our political fights about abortion. One, that the ethics and the politics of abortion are not the same. And two, that when we only talk about the individual choices of individual women, we fail to see the collective decisions we are making about when, how, and whether to welcome life.

As I mentioned in a recent Instagram post, I do not agree with either of our major political parties when it comes to abortion, which means I am grateful for people who are writing and thinking about the ethics and not just the politics, as Emma Camp and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson both do in these essays:


Book: The Frozen River.

I haven’t quite finished this novel yet, but I think I can safely recommend it since I’ve been reading it in the middle of the night. It’s a murder mystery set in the 1700s, told from the perspective of a woman who serves as a midwife to her community. It’s a fascinating look at New England culture in the 18th century but also a riveting read.


Essay: Confessions of a Republican Exile.

I appreciated so many things in this essay by David Brooks about his move from his early days of socialism, to his time in the Republican party, to his newfound appreciation (and critique) of the Democratic party.


Podcast: Can A Person With Down Syndrome Find Community & Belonging?

I loved this podcast about what true inclusion looks like and why that’s hard but possible and good. It got me thinking about how our society has been built to reinforce separation based on ability. Community and belonging depends upon both shifting our mindset towards disability and changing the structures and systems that have been operating for so long. 


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