June 2022
Books about inclusion and duck decoys, a pecan pie recipe, and some advocacy links
Hello friends! I hope this note finds you in a moment of peace and delight. If you have a long weekend ahead, may there be tasty pie involved (scroll down for a simple recipe to make this a reality). It’s been a tough couple of weeks in the U.S., and I am sending tenderness your way.
Take care,
Holly
Bookshelf
This month’s reading spanned quite the range of tones and topics! Our Show Me the Women selection was Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness, a powerful narrative about a trans woman’s journey to affirmation and self-acceptance. Mock tells her story with thoughtfulness and candor, masterfully balancing personal details with wider trans advocacy. She also incorporates a fair amount of self-reflection and grace, both for her younger self and for the adults in her life who let her down but were doing the best they knew how. A remarkable, important, well-written memoir that I’d heartily recommend you read! (That said, do mind the content notes).
In my ongoing journey to incorporate some lighter fiction into my literary diet, I read Flying Solo by Linda Holmes. Honestly, this book was delightful. It felt like reading a Katherine Heigl rom-com. The story follows a woman nearing her 40th birthday, having recently called of her wedding and returning to her Maine hometown to help deal with estate management following her great aunt’s death. The dialogue was funny and realistic, the side characters were well-developed, and the main conflict (a mysterious wooden duck decoy!) was the right mix of engaging and low stakes. If you enjoyed movies like 27 Dresses or Elizabethtown, consider adding this to your vacation TBR.
My other fiction read this month, Women of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, is an intergenerational historical fiction following a Indigenous-Latinx family, set in the Denver area around the turn of the 20th century. Despite having every marker of a book I’d love, this one fell a bit flat for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and learned about a time and place in history with which I was fairly unfamiliar. However, both the writing and plot felt somewhat underdeveloped. Fajardo-Anstine is a very descriptive writer, aiming for an immersive sense of place, but I found myself wanting more showing and less telling. Also, the multi-generational structure was ambitious and compelling, but the execution resulted in slow pacing and hard-to-track character arcs. Ultimately, I liked it well enough, but I probably won’t be actively recommending.
Finally, I’d consider My Body Is Not a Prayer Request by Dr. Amy Kenny to be the most important read of my month. Kenny, with gentle faith and conviction, makes the case for a disability-inclusive church, not stemming from a place of pity or saviorism, but from a commitment to human rights and bringing the Kingdom to earth. I highlighted and dog-eared this book to the high heavens. Kenny’s “argument” (not that she should have to argue for her worth) is well-supported with thoughtful theology and thorough calls to action. She recounts her own disability journey; enumerates the many ways she has been dismissed, sidelined, dehumanized, and de-prioritized; expounds on the ways her disability gives her a more robust understanding of God; and offers practical advice to anyone willing to heed her calls. Even in a moment when I am not a part of a specific church, Kenny’s book will dramatically impact the way I move through the world and engage with intersectional advocacy.
Have you read anything noteworthy lately? I’d love to hear about what’s on your shelves these days.
For regular posts & reviews, follow along at @fromhollysbookshelf and in my Bookshop storefront. For my monthly staff picks, visit my WORD page.
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Kitchen
July means pie, right?
Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie
From The Good Book of Southern Baking | Makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 4.5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 disk pie dough (I swear by the Ovenly Pâte Brisée recipe), parbaked
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cane syrup
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 0.5 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
Directions
For the crust (from Ovenly: The Cookbook): Cut 1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter into cubes, and place in freezer for at least 20 minutes. In a food processor, combine 1.25 cups AP flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Add the butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour in 2 Tbsp ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream. Process until the dough just holds together when pinched (do not process for more than 30 seconds). Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk and cover in plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour (and up to overnight) before using. Roll out and place in pie dish. Parbake to prepare for next steps.
For the pie: Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a medium bowl, toss together the pecans and chocolate then spread into the prepared pie shell. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs with the sugar, cane syrup, and salt until fully combined. Stir in the butter and bourbon. Pour mixture over chocolate and pecans in pie shell, filling as far as you can without overflowing the crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for 45-60 minutes, rotating after 30 minutes. Remove once the center is just set. Allow to cool completely on a rack before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream for the most delicious version!
For snippets of our home cooking with occasional tips & recipes, follow along at @fromhollyskitchen.
Miscellany
This section usually has more randomness & whimsy, but the state of the world has got me down, so I’ve included some advocacy and educational links along with a reminder to listen to the newest Florence + The Machine album Dance Fever (it’s downright delightful and you need it! For the sake of your mental health!)
I am pretty devastated by several of the SCOTUS decisions released this week. In particular, striking down gun regulations in NY (in the midst of a dramatic gun violence epidemic) and defanging the EPA (in a time when every moment is critical to slowing down global warming and securing a livable planet for the future). It can be hard to feel like a single person’s actions matter, but I’m fighting to hang on to a few threads of hope. A few places I’ve invested time/energy/money:
Supporting Earth Needs More Likes. This Patreon is an absolute powerhouse of information about climate change, run by my friend Kate who is a senior policy advisor to climate action groups.
Supporting/following March for Our Lives and Moms Demand Action.
Volunteering to write letters with Vote Forward to encourage turnout in the midterm elections later this year.
Reading books like This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe, All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K Wilkinson, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas, When Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough by Taylor Schulmann, and Trigger Points by Mark Follman.
Committing to consuming less, reducing plastic use/waste, buying second-hand, and letting my representatives (in every level of government) know what matters to me.
Thank you for being a subscriber. I love having a way to share a bit about what I’m reading and thinking about.
With love,
Holly
What a wonderful newsletter! Thanks, Holly. ❤️