Roberta Writes – This Is How We Grow, an anthology compiled by Yvette Prior #bookreview #anthology #readingcommunity

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What Amazon says

Stories have allowed people to transmit ideas, beliefs, and behaviors throughout history. The underlying premise of this book is that humans can grow by understanding the perspective of someone else. Perspective-taking can help humans develop compassion and concern for others.. One way to attain a deeper understanding of people is by learning about different viewpoints and this book offers material for perspective taking,

Sherri let us feel some California and English culture fusion, with reminders about how close, and connected, we all are in this big ol’ world. Let’s remember this when we feel a spirit of division. Can we put aside what divides and remember that we have more in common than we might not initially see?

Miriam Hurdle shared about going from having no grandkids, to getting the joyful news, to then having the pandemic limit travel to see this growing family. Her chapter left us with uplifting familial warmth.

Yvette Prior shared about the challenges and silver linings that came with a recent move while noting that lessons learned are a gift because it can lead to humility and strength.

Ana Linden shared about perspective changes through the story about her aunt, who had the middle name of Dragonfly. Ana showed the components of perspective and empathy are intertwined and complex, just like Ana’s Aunt Dragonfly was.

Marsha Ingrao shared about her blogging experience that led to soft skill development, friendship, life fuel, and a way to offer customized outreach. She reminded us that when storms come, we do the best we can to respond, cope, stay stable, and grow.

Lauren Scott explored body image while reminding us that empathy consists of both affective and cognitive components. Lauren also reminded us that we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

Mabel Kwong gained a deeper perspective by stopping writing, which made a huge difference in her affect and outlook. Life is not always easy and the obstacles with her writing journey remind us to stay the course and find what we need.

Robbie Cheadle shared her growth over six years as she dealt with illnesses with both of her children. The vulnerable health challenges also came with joy and growth. The beauty is there if we put forth the effort to see it.

Jeffrey D. Simmons used poetry to describe the cadence of his life as he has adapted to different living arrangements. Jeff chooses to adapt and find joy whether he has to anchor or move around.

Trent McDonald used fiction to show us that we humans not only tend to have wrong assumptions, but assumptions are often negative. Maybe we can start assuming the best and clarify sooner to minimize distorted thinking.

Mahesh Nair talked about words and accents with an example of how he once perceived a behavior as snobby to later see that it was not. He also explored how the current digital world is something many of us take for granted but it had to grow, evolve, and mature over many years. Humans are similar in how we advance and grow.

Mike’s chapter offered tips and advice for thriving while in caregiver mode. The physical exhaustion and mental drain can be mitigated and he also let us into his personal life as he shared about how it took time to understand relationship dynamics and then live out what he advised about in a clinical setting.

Cade reminded us that our mental filters will change as the way we view right and wrong will change too. As we learn more about individual bias and faulty thinking, we need to pay attention to other people’s viewpoints.

There is a gap between what is and what we know or think something is. We hope the stories and poems in this book help readers learn about how others see the world and gain a deeper understanding to open the heart and enahnce empathy.

My review

This is How we Grow is a fascinating collection of insightful stories, mainly non-fiction, into specific experiences by each contributor which have resulted in a change to their mindset and approach and/or attitude to life.

The two contributions that made the biggest impact on me as a reader were Dragonfly by Ana Linden and Right and Wrong by Cade Prior.

Dragonfly by Ana Linden revolves around the intermittent support offered by the author’s aunt towards her during her childhood. The aunt was a destroyed person. Someone who had ruined her life, in the eyes of her parents and other people, by making decisions that they perceived as wrong. An aunt who had been joyous and creative as a girl and teen, but who had married the wrong person and brought judgement down on her head when she suffered abuse at the hands of a vicious husband. This aunt, although dependent on alcohol and never having achieved what she could have, or should have, tried to support her niece who demonstrated similar characteristics as a child. This story resonated with me because the aunt was such a victim of her narrow minded and judgmental parents and society. Abuse of women is still alive and well and there are millions of women who still suffer terribly as a result. This story is difficult to read as the flow is awkward and you must wind your way through the slightly incoherent writing style, but the message is impactful.

Cade Prior’s essay on right and wrong interested me a great deal. I found his thought process fascinating, and it does reflect some of my own thinking. While I don’t agree with everything he wrote, it did give me pause to reconsider my own believes and viewpoints and adjust them for fresh ideas. I think that thought process was beneficial for me and I would recommend it to others.

All the stories were interesting, and all taught me something about life and how other people experience and perceive life. The book offers a lot of variety as the stories deal with a wide variety of topical issues such as the dissatisfaction of young people with their appearance and weight, the result of media messaging relating to ideal looks and bodies, new age grandparenting, cat therapy for mental health issues, adjusting our perspectives about blogging, writing, and publishing and dealing with social media.

This book is a worthwhile read that will give the reader new information and fresh insights to consider about a wide spectrum of life experiences.

You can purchase This Is How We Grow from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCCNBNWV

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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41 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – This Is How We Grow, an anthology compiled by Yvette Prior #bookreview #anthology #readingcommunity”

  1. Thank you for a most insightful review, Robbie. I especially appreciated your words: “The underlying premise of this book is that humans can grow by understanding the perspective of someone else.” I agree wholeheartedly – thank you to all the creatives that added their thoughts and experience.

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  16. An excellent review, Robbie. This book has been lurking in my Kindle and I really need to start reading it since I know so many of the authors. The range of topics is interesting to me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And congrats on being a part of it!

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  18. Aren’t we lucky, Roberta ,to have the possibility to read all these stories written and experienced by so many writers, which give us the possibility to learn about other opinions and grow in this way all our life long ! Thank you very much for this post 🌹

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