Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men (Meditation Series)

Rating:
Summary: Powerful Daily Wisdom
Review: I stumbled across this awesome book while desperately seeking solace and advice following the (unwanted) end of my 19-year marriage. While not an alcoholic, I've seen how the 12-step program can change people's lives, so I wasn't put-off by the references to it in the text. In any case, the focus on 12-step principles is low-key, and the book uses a number of other sources of wisdom to help the reader become more self-aware, calm and centered during the storms, large and small, of life. My well-worn copy is now in its sixth year of use. It's been so helpful that now just the act of picking up the book starts to calm me down!

Rating:
Summary: An Approach to Life
Review: I use this book to try to make sense out of life stresses. It's a smallpocket book, nicely printed. There's one page corresponding to eachday of the year. Each page starts with a quote from diverse folks: Einstein, Twain, Thoreau, Shakespeare, Woody Allen, etc. Then there's a small essay about a way to approach the day. In some ways, it's a supplement or even a substitute father, making gentle suggestions about the ways that the world works, and good ways to encounter and appreciate it.