1. Tattoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle -- http://www.amazon.ca/Tattoos-Heart-Power-Boundless-Compassion/dp/1439153159
2. Running Away to Home -- http://www.amazon.ca/Running-Away-Home-Familys-Journey/dp/1250014018
I really loved both of these books. Father Gregory Boyle opened my eyes and heart even more to see and understand what compassion and kinship can be. And Jennifer Wilson took me on a great adventure of building family and community in Croatia.
“I was once asked whether you can love your partner and still cheat on them. Although you may feel love, you are not practicing love when you betray someone – and that is what is important. Professing love is easy. Practicing love takes courage.”
“I believe love is something that we give. It is something that we cultivate. It is honoring that spiritual connection that grows from trust, respect, and affection.”
“Love requires tenacity and grit. It’s work. It is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.”
(quotes taken from Brene’s article in O Magazine)
I just finished reading this book today. http://www.amazon.com/Island-Girl-Lynda-Simmons/dp/0425237249
I don’t read many novels, but this one pulled me in quickly and kept me glued to the story and the characters. I really loved all three of the main characters – Ruby, Liz and Grace. They were so real to me, so flawed, lives so messy. They felt like they could have been family. 
The book came to me via a comment on a website about having the right to choose death for oneself in critical health conditions. Ruby, the mother in the story has early onset Alzheimer's and she won’t have no disease dictate to her the kind of life she will live. But her family is broken and she desperately wants to make things to her liking before it is too late.
Each of the characters must heal various relationships… with others… with themselves. By the end, I was in tears. And I don’t cry easily.
