Caring in Remembered Ways: The Fruit of Seeing Deeply

CARING IN REMEMBERED WAYS is the kind of book I reach for when I crave nourishing insights during trying times in my life. Maggie Steincrohn Davis' book about loving and caring for ourselves and others is true food for the soul, written like poetry. Thirty-one graceful entries gently serve up tasty morsels of ancient wisdom (such as how to see from the heart, or face times when loved ones are dying) alongside a garnish of amusing and heart-warming personal anecdotes. I love the way Maggie understands all the subtle nuances of care-giving, and the ways love can reach through any situation, when we imagine it can. She writes, "Only by reaching 'beyond-the-beyond' of people -- behind their eyes, back of their pain, beneath their blaming and irritation and fussing -- do we make a path to the best in them. Treating someone with compassion who does not treat us well in return might be our fullest offering of love, as well as our own greatest relief during the daily rounds of vigilance and giving."In this book, every sentence feels like a prayer and a meditation on love and compassion. As I read each comforting entry, I find myself feeling like I'm back in the warm, sunny days of my childhood -- snugly wrapped by my mother in a fluffy towel after a warm bath. CARING IN REMEMBERED WAYS can help brighten and warm even the darkest, coldest days in one's life. It's the ideal pick-me-up for anyone who grows weary of caring for and nurturing others, and even oneself.

Maggie has written a beautiful book about taking care of our fellow man. Her words flow like a calming river, bathing our souls in caring consciousness. This book will teach you deeply and remind you we are all human. Maggie helps us hear the thoughts of the ill and dying. She takes us by the hand and leads us into their world. How do you handle a parents death, a friends illness, the loss of a pet? What do you say to a friend experiencing a loss? How do you feel about your own aging? These are issues we will all have to face in our life. Her words inspire us to move beyond courtesy and kindness and realize empathy. She evokes this feeling through a montage of anecdotes, meditations, stories from her own life, collected quotes, eternal wisdom and rivers of thoughts which run deeply over the rocky river beds of life. The philosophy is to see the beauty and interconnectedness of all life. The goal is to strive to think, speak and act from what we see. Maggie has been listening to her own heart and the concerns of others for years. She has absorbed this knowledge and wants to pass it on to us in a way that affirms the best a human can be. She reminds us: "...any life we care for well can remind us of all we are capable of giving." I highly recommend this "drink for the soul" to nurses, doctors, hospice volunteers, families caring for their loved ones, and everyone who feels disconnected and wants to start learning how to care for others. How beautiful the world would be if we could all know what Maggie knows in her heart. How caring of her to share her knowledge with us. By reading this book you will realize how the smallest deed can have a positive effect in your own neighborhood. If you nourish yourself with the attitude of compassion, at the same time you will leave attitudes of worry, self-doubt, blame, fear, resentment and pettiness to die without your care. Maggie started Neighborcare to provide hands-on-care, plant care, pet care, help with errands, meal preparation, housekeeping, help with outside chores and help with transportation to medical appointments. Her vision for the future is to encourage others to serve the ill, dying, injured and heartsick. She applauds volunteer efforts and I believe she is going to succeed in bringing awareness to caring with this thoughtful book from her heart. The lessons presented in "Caring in Remembered Ways" are your guides to compassion. Along the journey of collected thoughts you may not see the words through you own tears. This is when you will most clearly see the needs of your own soul and the needs of fellow souls traveling with you in life. If you plant the thoughts from this inspiring book in your soul, caring will grow. ~The Rebecca Review

"Caring In Remembered Ways" is subtitled "The Fruit of Seeing Deeply" and oh what a blossoming orchard of wisdom Maggie Davis passes on to us throughout her charming book. This is what we refer to as a night stand staple. A book to pick up at any moment, slowly page through, and derive comfort from re-learning how to give comfort.There is poetry, glimpses of heart rendering stories of the dying, of family, and fresh, ripe *bites* of fruit to pick , especially regarding enriching childrens lives. One of our favorite lessons of nature was quoting George Washington Carver--"the man best known for discovering the many uses of peanuts [he] was described as a saintly man who believed that a flower will give up it's secrets to you if you love it enough--that anyone will do that."A beautiful inspirational book in content and appearance.

As Ms. Davis says in the introduction, the sense of the book is to "see deeply the beauty and connectedness of all life; then think, speak and act from what you see." The book is a series of essays that build nicely on that theme. What makes the book outstanding is that Ms. Davis is a genius at emphathic understanding. For example, in one sequence she reads a story about a nursing home where the television sets are kept on for a minimum number of hours a day to mentally stimulate the patients. She wonders if this is a good idea. Some of the patients who cannot speak were perhaps accomplished professional musicians who abhor harsh sounds, and the staff may find their nerves jangled by the constant background bruit and bray of television. I think I learned more about good ways to find out how people would like to be helped from this book than from almost all the others I have read combined. I hope Ms. Davis goes on to write a book just about how to handle the types of difficult situations that one runs into in life. I am reminded of walking in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York one night in a light drizzle around 10:30 p.m. On top of a bench is a young woman sitting alone wearing a white wedding dress and veil and sobbing uncontrollably. I wanted to comfort her somehow, but didn't have a clue as to what to do. Her grief was so overwhelming that she didn't notice me as I stood quietly nearby. I didn't know how to get her attention or to find out how to help. After ten minutes of this, I quietly walked on. Ms. Davis would have known just what to do. I'm sorry that I didn't.Some of the essays relate to helping ill people and the dying. Ms. Davis recounts being with her parents near the end of their lives. There are many valuable messages there for all of us who will be the ones who are sick and dying, or the caregivers. This book will make you feel more deeply alive and in love with life than ever before. It will also make you more human, in the good sense of that concept.After reading this book, consider how you can better convey your needs to those around you in a way that will encourage them to do the same with you. That will be the beginning of many beautiful moments.

Caring in Remembered Ways is one of those rare, remarkable books that inspires without preaching and shows how powerful and healing simple acts of listening, touching, and caring can be. Maggie Davis' writing is eloquent and has the ability to speak to the heart in a way that awakens the desire to reach out to people. On every page are anecdotes, observations, insightful passages from philosphers, poets, caregivers and ordinary people doing extraordinary acts of compassion. This is a lovely book to hold and keep nearby. It is the kind of book you can open to any page and find a little gem that can move and remind you how precious life is. There are passages in this book that brought tears to my eyes and others that brought a smile to my lips. I highly recommend this book to people in the caring professions, or to anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of people they know or have met for the first time. I can't imagine how anyone's life would ever be the same after reading this very special book.