"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
New Books Offer Simple Pleasures, More Love at Home
by Laurie Williams Sowby
Lori Nawyn has compiled
a year’s worth of inspirational thoughts and inspiring ideas
for women into Simple Things, a compact paperback from
Covenant (2014, 359 pages, $15.99). The collection’s subtitle
accurately describes it as “Daily Thoughts, Stories, and
Inspirations to Live More Fully.”
Organized by month and
day, the book gives a theme for the month, followed by suggestions
for “making the most of” whichever month it is, geared to
the season and theme, including simple activities, craft ideas, and
easy decorations to “nurture yourself and those you love.”
Each date has short
thoughts, quotes, scriptures, personal experiences, and stories that
illustrate the theme and offer women encouragement and motivation
along with inspiration. A handful of seasonal recipes appear at the
end of each month section.
This could easily have
been a slick, colorfully illustrated, expensive hardcover book, but
Simple Things is a compact, jam-packed collection that gives
you your money’s worth.
Kevin Hinckley, a
private professional counselor, lets it all hang out (well, some of
it, anyway) in The Husband Whisperer — The Gentle
Approach to Communication in Marriage (Cedar Fort 2014, 118
pages in hard cover, $14.99).
The title seems a bit
misleading, as the stories he shares and the principles he espouses
are not just for wives, nor even just for women. He’s actually
advocating and showing the success of toning down our voices and
attitudes in all communication. His techniques work with
children and teenagers as well as adults, including co-workers,
roommates, and bedmates.
A crucial chapter lays
out what whispering is not. It is not passive, silent, or
manipulative; it doesn’t have to gently win every argument
(offering quiet sincerity instead); and whispering doesn’t mean
fixing or enabling.
“Speaking gently
is not silent,” he writes. “It is speaking up in a way
that cannot be misunderstood by clearly explaining difficulties as
you see them. It is making your insights and concerns known and
accounted for in a moment of decision making.”
He reflects on the way
the Spirit communicates and urges humans to do the same with “a
voice that is mild but full of power and strength.” In other
words, meekness doesn’t mean weakness.
The author’s
conversational tone and clear explanations are advice borne of
experience — not just his, but people he’s counseled.
It’s psychology in layman’s terms, with the addition of
scriptures, General Authority quotes, and illustrations.
He explains how men’s
and women’s brains work differently and shows how a real-life
conversation that could be confrontational, angry, or argumentative
can be couched in phrases that avoid those results while getting at
the underlying concerns.
The Husband
Whisperer offers tools for a little more peace as well as love at
home.
Laurie
Williams Sowby has been writing since second grade and getting paid
for it since high school. Her byline ("all three names, please")
has appeared on more than 6,000 freelance articles published in
newspapers, magazines, and online.
A
graduate of BYU and a writing instructor at Utah Valley University
for many years, she proudly claims all five children and their
spouses as college grads.
She
and husband, Steve, have served three full-time missions together,
beginning in 2005 in Chile, followed by Washington D.C. South, then
Washington D.C. North, both times as young adult Institute teachers.
They are currently serving in the New York Office of Public and
International Affairs
During
her years of missionary service, Laurie has continued to write about
significant Church events, including the rededication of the Santiago
Temple by President Hinckley and the groundbreaking for the
Philadelphia Temple by President Eyring. She also was a Church
Service Missionary, working as a news editor at Church Magazines,
between full-time missions.
Laurie
has traveled to all 50 states and at least 45 countries (so far).
While home is American Fork, Utah, Lincoln Center and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art have provided a comfortable second home.
Laurie
is currently serving a fourth full-time mission with her husband in
the New York Office of Public and International Affairs. The two
previously served with a branch presidency at the Provo Missionary
Training Center. The oldest of 18 grandchildren have been called to
serve missions in New Hampshire and Brisbane, Australia.
