The Power of Meaning

The Power of Meaning
Author: Emily Esfahani Smith
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2017-01-10
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 055344655X

In a culture obsessed with happiness, this wise, stirring book points the way toward a richer, more satisfying life. Too many of us believe that the search for meaning is an esoteric pursuit—that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to discover life’s secrets. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us—right here, right now. To explore how we can craft lives of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith synthesizes a kaleidoscopic array of sources—from psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists to figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, and the Buddha. Drawing on this research, Smith shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery can immeasurably deepen our lives. To bring what she calls the four pillars of meaning to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and more. She also introduces us to compelling seekers of meaning—from the drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit to the artist who draws on her Hindu upbringing to create arresting photographs. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a life that matters.

Afro-Paradise

Afro-Paradise
Author: Christen A Smith
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2016-03-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0252098099

Tourists exult in Bahia, Brazil, as a tropical paradise infused with the black population's one-of-a-kind vitality. But the alluring images of smiling black faces and dancing black bodies masks an ugly reality of anti-black authoritarian violence. Christen A. Smith argues that the dialectic of glorified representations of black bodies and subsequent state repression reinforces Brazil's racially hierarchal society. Interpreting the violence as both institutional and performative, Smith follows a grassroots movement and social protest theater troupe in their campaigns against racial violence. As Smith reveals, economies of black pain and suffering form the backdrop for the staged, scripted, and choreographed afro-paradise that dazzles visitors. The work of grassroots organizers exposes this relationship, exploding illusions and asking unwelcome questions about the impact of state violence performed against the still-marginalized mass of Afro-Brazilians. Based on years of field work, Afro-Paradise is a passionate account of a long-overlooked struggle for life and dignity in contemporary Brazil.

Meet Mrs. Smith

Meet Mrs. Smith
Author: Anna Smith
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013-04-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0781406102

With a good dose of spiritual insight, parenting advice, and wry humor, Anna Smith chronicles her life as wife of the lead singer of Delirious?, the history-making band that launched the modern-day worship movement. A feast of behind-the-scenes insights about life as an international celebrity, this book is also a profound look at one family’s quest to foster a rich spiritual life and care for others while living well in a consumption-driven world. This book is about not settling for less—in life, as a parent, and as a rock star—but doing everything with soul purpose. Readers will come away entertained and inspired, ready to surprise the world with their desire to do great things for God.

A Better Life

A Better Life
Author: Rebecca Smith
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2020-05-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310357586

The founder of Better Life Bags, Rebecca Smith, teaches us how to take little steps, say yes when God calls, and follow the passion He has given us. Let love stretch you. As the founder of one of the most popular custom handbag companies in the country, Rebecca Smith knows a thing or two about business. A highly successful entrepreneur in a world where the focus is on scalability, brand strategy, and global marketing, Rebecca Smith also knows the truth: that every success she's experienced at Better Life Bags has been the result of very small, very ordinary, very obedient steps of faith. Moving from Savannah, Georgia, to Hamtramck, Michigan, was culture shock enough for Rebecca. But trying to feel at home in a city where twenty-six different languages were spoken and most of the inhabitants were immigrants seemed downright impossible. It was only when Rebecca recognized that God had called her to this specific neighborhood at this particular moment in time that his plans began to unfold for her. Stepping forward into the place God had called her - a place that seemed messy and uncomfortable and unfamiliar - Rebecca discovered the true secret to success: when we slow down, pay attention, and trust that still, small voice of God to guide us, we just might change the world. Though Rebecca never set out to build a brand or create an empire, God saw Rebecca's heart for others, and began to multiply her efforts in ways she could have never imagined, creating a company where women from different cultures, faiths, and backgrounds work together for the good of others - for a better life. As you read this inspiring story, you will discover how to hear and follow God's voice for yourself as you slow down, take one small step at a time, and make a difference in the world right where you are.

A Book of Days

A Book of Days
Author: Patti Smith
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0593448553

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A deeply moving and brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book of days by the National Book Award–winning author of Just Kids and M Train, featuring more than 365 images and reflections that chart Smith’s singular aesthetic—inspired by her wildly popular Instagram. ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Variety, Pitchfork, PopSugar In 2018, without any plan or agenda for what might happen next, Patti Smith posted her first Instagram photo: her hand with the simple message “Hello Everybody!” Known for shooting with her beloved Land Camera 250, Smith started posting images from her phone including portraits of her kids, her radiator, her boots, and her Abyssinian cat, Cairo. Followers felt an immediate affinity with these miniature windows into Smith’s world, photographs of her daily coffee, the books she’s reading, the graves of beloved heroes—William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Simone Weil, Albert Camus. Over time, a coherent story of a life devoted to art took shape, and more than a million followers responded to Smith’s unique aesthetic in images that chart her passions, devotions, obsessions, and whims. Original to this book are vintage photographs: anniversary pearls, a mother’s keychain, and a husband’s Mosrite guitar. Here, too, are photos from Smith’s archives of life on and off the road, train stations, obscure cafés, a notebook always nearby. In wide-ranging yet intimate daily notations, Smith shares dispatches from her travels around the world. With over 365 photographs taking you through a single year, A Book of Days is a new way to experience the expansive mind of the visionary poet, writer, and performer. Hopeful, elegiac, playful—and complete with an introduction by Smith that explores her documentary process—A Book of Days is a timeless offering for deeply uncertain times, an inspirational map of an artist’s life.

Electronic Tribes

Electronic Tribes
Author: Tyrone L. Adams
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2008-06
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0292717741

From MySpace.com to Nigerian e-mail scams, sixteen competitively selected essays inquire into the causes and consequences of the "tribes" that are facilitated by the Internet.

It's a Book!

It's a Book!
Author: Lane Smith
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2018-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781509884711

A wry exchange between an IT-savvy donkey, a book-loving ape and a mouse forms this very funny picture book that's perfect for both digital natives and book lovers. With a subversive and signature Lane Smith twist, this satisfying and perfectly executed picture book has something to say to children and adults alike about the importance and joy of reading.It's a Book is another bold and funny story from the creator of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal-winning There Is a Tribe of Kids, Lane Smith.

A House That Once Was

A House That Once Was
Author: Julie Fogliano
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250315603

A New York Times Best Illustrated book! A Boston Globe Best Children's Book of 2018 “Accompanied by Lane's evocative art that suggests layers of history, Fogliano's story turns this childhood scenario into a radiant poem about the mysteries of other people and the wonderfulness of home.” —New York Times Deep in the woods is a house just a house that once was but now isn’t a home. Who lived in that house? Who walked down its hallways? Why did they leave it, and where did they go? Two children set off to find the answers by piecing together clues found, books left behind, forgotten photos, and discarded toys, creating their own vision of those who came before, in this deeply moving tale of imagination by Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning author Julie Fogliano and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Lane Smith.