Recently, I had a soul-enriching conversation at Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) whose mission is to support leaders in aligning their inward values and purpose with their outward service and action. In her last interview question, Meena Srinivasan, TEL’s ED, asked ‘what do you know for sure now’? Without hesitation, I replied, ‘these are not normal times. Life is so not normal, and this requires that we hold a beautiful aspiration, grounded in compassionate action.’
Why I Wrote Hope Leans Forward
Cultivating hope isn’t about flimsy, wishful thinking; it’s about purposeful, truth-telling, and bravery that takes space and time, which is why I wrote my latest book, Hope Leans Forward, Braving Your Way toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace and created the Hope Leans Forward E-Journal.
Written at time of profound personal crisis and in the shadow of the Black Lives Matter movement, Hope Leans Forward helps you navigate life’s broken-open and pulled-apart times, and is for anyone seeking to build actionable hope.
Two Free Gifts with Every Preorder
With your preorder of the book, you’ll receive a beautiful, free 23-page Hope Leans Forward E- Journal filled with inspiring quotes from the book, simple mindfulness practices, and Quaker queries designed to help you reflect deeply into your life and what matters most. As a special bonus, you’ll also receive a free 20- minute audio Mindful Breathing Guided Meditation.
Please visit https://valeriebrown.us/bo… or any bookseller to order your copy now.
Why Preorder the Book Now?
Preordering the book now sends a strong message to book publishers to print more copies of the book to get it to more people. And this isn’t just about sales. It’s about supporting work created by BIPOC writers for BIPOC readers, and for all audiences.
Think of this book as Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love meets Eckert Tolle’s Power of Now. It’s about brave-making action that arises from deepening awareness of this moment, now.
Join me for these very special events. . . .
Hope Leans Forward @ San Francisco Zen Center
Saturday, September 24, 2022 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern Time
Daily we are asked to move toward bravery, to stretch in the direction of goodness, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and vulnerability. Yet life’s tender fragility, fear, and anxiety, and our own self-sabotage can derail us from growing and thriving, leaving us stuck, fractured, and constantly second guessing ourselves.
How can we gain greater self-awareness and bravery to break these patterns?
Register here: https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/online/hope-leans-forward-online-924
Hope Leans Forward is selected as Dharma-of-the-Month in Insight Meditation Society’s Book Club Fall Lineup
Thursday, December 1 @ 7:00 pm Eastern Time
I’m thrilled that Hope Leans Forward is part of IMS’s Fall Book Club lineup. Bringing together authors and readers for a facilitated discussion, the book club offers participants a deeper experience and engagement with Buddhist teachings. Explore how to cultivate skillful hope in challenging times and how to bring brave, actionable hope into the New Year.
Join me for this very special free event.
Register here: https://ims.dharma.org/courses/ims-book-club-hope-leans-forward
Hope Leans Forward is like your BFF but better, inviting powerful questions for your reflection and action like these.
- What are you reaching toward in your life and why?
- What does it mean to you to act with authentic hope, wise hope?
- What surprised you from tending to grief?