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And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World
While others often respond to the cares and concerns of our day through anger, The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World attempts to offer a response steeped in the heartbeat of Love.
This book is an invitation to encounter the lived experience and philosophical musings of another as a human, not as a project or agenda to conquer. Without apology, it embraces humanity and all the emotions, back stories, and history that come along with who we are and who Love is inviting us to be. This book is for those who want to think more deeply, those who are asking questions of how, what, and perhaps even why, and those who want to engage in deep listening and empathy.
The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World is an invitation to move beyond binaries, beyond hierarchy and comparison to embrace the concept of "AND," with inclusion and generativity that allow for more than one perspective and/or way of being.
Touching on issues of race, body, motherhood, church, and wonder, these writings are from the stirrings of the author’s own soul, extending an invitation to sit with Spirit in the process of mindful meditation, to humbly sit with compassion and curiosity in ways that evoke honesty and healing so that one might move beyond either/or and discover how the restorative power and uniting thread of Love might be stitching each of us to the world and to each other.
This book is an invitation to encounter the lived experience and philosophical musings of another as a human, not as a project or agenda to conquer. Without apology, it embraces humanity and all the emotions, back stories, and history that come along with who we are and who Love is inviting us to be. This book is for those who want to think more deeply, those who are asking questions of how, what, and perhaps even why, and those who want to engage in deep listening and empathy.
The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World is an invitation to move beyond binaries, beyond hierarchy and comparison to embrace the concept of "AND," with inclusion and generativity that allow for more than one perspective and/or way of being.
Touching on issues of race, body, motherhood, church, and wonder, these writings are from the stirrings of the author’s own soul, extending an invitation to sit with Spirit in the process of mindful meditation, to humbly sit with compassion and curiosity in ways that evoke honesty and healing so that one might move beyond either/or and discover how the restorative power and uniting thread of Love might be stitching each of us to the world and to each other.
- GenresSpirituality
377 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 13, 2024
20 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Felicia Murrell
3 books21 followersI’m Felicia Murrell and I write about what it means to be human, allowing space for our beauty, our messes and the deep complexity that shrouds us in mystery. I write as an invitation to knowing, inclusion and integration — what it means to live and move and have our being as we live loved, listen deeply and journey well. Thank you for joining me on the journey.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 26, 2023
This is an ARC (advanced copy) review. I have the honour of being on the launch team for this book. And I read it just before Christmas, because I wanted to give an in-depth review. Even if I had not been on the team I would have wanted this book. It is very important for the times we are living in.
In the introduction Felicia suggests this is not a book to read in one sitting. But one to savour. This is a big claim. And made by the author no less. But is it true? The answer is yes. This is a book of being. A book of meditations. A book that, if one wants to grow and be honest, can change the life of one completely. But it comes at a cost. As Felicia will tell you (and does tell you) herself. A cost that is huge. And that many of us run from. Because there is only one way to change.
Crucifixion. To face one’s pain and to learn to die. Because it is only by dying you can rise to Life again. This is that kind of book. Written by a woman of colour and courage, and written by one who had lived through the crucible of fire, just for being Black. In a world dominated by white power. We see its edges fraying, but my God the lion roars. All the more because its death throes are coming. And the problems of this world are so simple. As Felicia points out. “A lack of love.’ But it’s not given the range of arguments we all give ourselves to avoid doing it and living it! Felicia talks about muscle memory pain. Which as a British Jewish woman I can definitely identify with.
‘Pain demands we pick a side.’ But do we have too? Felicia states it emphatically. ‘Love delivers us from evil.’ But to be delivered means we have to live with the discomfort of the truth. And the truth, as she states, can be devastating to face. But faced it must be, if we are to live in a world of Both/And. Felicia shows us, through question, meditation and poem how to do this.
By learning to live now. Each day, and face the wounds of our selves, by surrendering them in a walk with Divine Love. Sitting with them, not fleeing or medicating or ignoring, or raging. But letting them speak. And letting them go. For once they die in us, the Life will come.
‘Both/And stops us choosing either/or.’ The White Patriarchal world demands we take a side. Felicia shows us another way. Both/And. As she points out, ‘The earth is groaning for the rise of the feminine.’ For too long white patriarchy has waged its wars on ‘other,’ used other, enslaved other, brought other, and killed other. Feminine Love would balance this. But for that to happen, so many of us women need to ask, ‘Who am I?’ Without the role. When Felicia asked me that question I did not have an immediate answer. My life had been defined by trying to hide. Trying to keep near the exits. Trying to live unseen. But to help heal the world I must stand in who I am. Just as Felicia had learned and is teaching us to stand as she is. Talk. Looking pain in the eye, and saying, ‘Bring it on. Love is here.’
I loved that Felicia can say (and is teaching me to say, even better!) ‘For me quitting is a beautiful yes/and.’ Thankyou! We so need permission to quit! Quit the rat race. Quit trying to get it right. Quit trying to fit in the box. Squeeze in the mould (and the size 6!) quit, trying to climb up the pole, be the toughest. Be the top. Quit carrying the burden that we have to solve it all, be it all, carry it all. Thankyou Felicia for showing us we can breathe. And we can say no!
Felicia asks us, ‘Who have I discarded without a second look?’ Because of how I view myself, how I view others, and how I view the world? How the world views me? Let’s begin to see the Imago Dei in each other. Rather than hiding, rushing, judging. The slow meditations and poems in this book, the teaching of how to sit and how to be. How to heal and how to feel. The tools are all here. We just need to take the time to sit with them, and ask Spirit, as Felicia says, ‘Who can sit with me? Midwive with me?’
The sentence that most blew my mind was, ‘To the extent I do not trust love, I will not trust humanity’s ability to live together.’
WOW! That describes the world’s issues today, and the issues in me! And how do I start? One of Felicia’s many tools; ‘Listening without agreeing gives space. Not ostracising because of different views.’ How much social media do we see that does just THAT, how much of society teach us to do just that?!
‘The act of punishing is easy and mindless. Addressing harm by harming removes the need to think critically about repair amd accountability.’ WOW. Yup. Spot on analysis of Media and how we treat each other today. How do we change it? As one of Felicia’s quotes show us; ‘Only validated people validate others.’ Which means we must first we must do the work to validate ourselves.
And she shows us how, in the many poems and meditations she generously gives.
Another thing that really blessed me was a new look she gave me on how to reframe seeing pain, when I see my own children making choices I know will hurt them. To see it as a tiny fraction of how Papa God feels when we do it to ourselves!
And another quote that I loved and made me laugh, because Papa God has been showing this to me lately for this, ‘Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape.’ Which, I constantly need as I am constantly seeing the world in different ways. Currently feeling as if I need new glasses every few days!
This book is a gem. I suggest a paper copy because you are going to want to write notes and doodle all over it! I can also say, having met Felicia in person, she is just like this book. Love spills out. It leaks out. This is a woman determined that love will be her centre, regardless of the cost.
In the introduction Felicia suggests this is not a book to read in one sitting. But one to savour. This is a big claim. And made by the author no less. But is it true? The answer is yes. This is a book of being. A book of meditations. A book that, if one wants to grow and be honest, can change the life of one completely. But it comes at a cost. As Felicia will tell you (and does tell you) herself. A cost that is huge. And that many of us run from. Because there is only one way to change.
Crucifixion. To face one’s pain and to learn to die. Because it is only by dying you can rise to Life again. This is that kind of book. Written by a woman of colour and courage, and written by one who had lived through the crucible of fire, just for being Black. In a world dominated by white power. We see its edges fraying, but my God the lion roars. All the more because its death throes are coming. And the problems of this world are so simple. As Felicia points out. “A lack of love.’ But it’s not given the range of arguments we all give ourselves to avoid doing it and living it! Felicia talks about muscle memory pain. Which as a British Jewish woman I can definitely identify with.
‘Pain demands we pick a side.’ But do we have too? Felicia states it emphatically. ‘Love delivers us from evil.’ But to be delivered means we have to live with the discomfort of the truth. And the truth, as she states, can be devastating to face. But faced it must be, if we are to live in a world of Both/And. Felicia shows us, through question, meditation and poem how to do this.
By learning to live now. Each day, and face the wounds of our selves, by surrendering them in a walk with Divine Love. Sitting with them, not fleeing or medicating or ignoring, or raging. But letting them speak. And letting them go. For once they die in us, the Life will come.
‘Both/And stops us choosing either/or.’ The White Patriarchal world demands we take a side. Felicia shows us another way. Both/And. As she points out, ‘The earth is groaning for the rise of the feminine.’ For too long white patriarchy has waged its wars on ‘other,’ used other, enslaved other, brought other, and killed other. Feminine Love would balance this. But for that to happen, so many of us women need to ask, ‘Who am I?’ Without the role. When Felicia asked me that question I did not have an immediate answer. My life had been defined by trying to hide. Trying to keep near the exits. Trying to live unseen. But to help heal the world I must stand in who I am. Just as Felicia had learned and is teaching us to stand as she is. Talk. Looking pain in the eye, and saying, ‘Bring it on. Love is here.’
I loved that Felicia can say (and is teaching me to say, even better!) ‘For me quitting is a beautiful yes/and.’ Thankyou! We so need permission to quit! Quit the rat race. Quit trying to get it right. Quit trying to fit in the box. Squeeze in the mould (and the size 6!) quit, trying to climb up the pole, be the toughest. Be the top. Quit carrying the burden that we have to solve it all, be it all, carry it all. Thankyou Felicia for showing us we can breathe. And we can say no!
Felicia asks us, ‘Who have I discarded without a second look?’ Because of how I view myself, how I view others, and how I view the world? How the world views me? Let’s begin to see the Imago Dei in each other. Rather than hiding, rushing, judging. The slow meditations and poems in this book, the teaching of how to sit and how to be. How to heal and how to feel. The tools are all here. We just need to take the time to sit with them, and ask Spirit, as Felicia says, ‘Who can sit with me? Midwive with me?’
The sentence that most blew my mind was, ‘To the extent I do not trust love, I will not trust humanity’s ability to live together.’
WOW! That describes the world’s issues today, and the issues in me! And how do I start? One of Felicia’s many tools; ‘Listening without agreeing gives space. Not ostracising because of different views.’ How much social media do we see that does just THAT, how much of society teach us to do just that?!
‘The act of punishing is easy and mindless. Addressing harm by harming removes the need to think critically about repair amd accountability.’ WOW. Yup. Spot on analysis of Media and how we treat each other today. How do we change it? As one of Felicia’s quotes show us; ‘Only validated people validate others.’ Which means we must first we must do the work to validate ourselves.
And she shows us how, in the many poems and meditations she generously gives.
Another thing that really blessed me was a new look she gave me on how to reframe seeing pain, when I see my own children making choices I know will hurt them. To see it as a tiny fraction of how Papa God feels when we do it to ourselves!
And another quote that I loved and made me laugh, because Papa God has been showing this to me lately for this, ‘Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape.’ Which, I constantly need as I am constantly seeing the world in different ways. Currently feeling as if I need new glasses every few days!
This book is a gem. I suggest a paper copy because you are going to want to write notes and doodle all over it! I can also say, having met Felicia in person, she is just like this book. Love spills out. It leaks out. This is a woman determined that love will be her centre, regardless of the cost.
January 18, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Felicia Murrell’s “And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World.” There is so much in this book it’s hard to put it in one single category. It’s a powerful manifesto—to choose Love and love for one another over everything else. It’s also an invitation—to deep knowing through genuine relationships, honest conversations, and vulnerable presence. It’s a confession—of the many lies and harmful theologies that Felicia has believed and sometimes even “parroted” herself, but also the longings, the desires, and the Truth that set her free and move her in the direction of Love. It’s poetry—a lyrical balm for your soul. It’s a gentle guide—Felicia takes your hand, places it on Wisdom’s hand, then pulls her hand back so you can hear what Love is saying to you (this is a paraphrased line from the book). And it’s also a prayer. Whoever reads this book will find themselves seen, challenged, and faced with sacred invitations too beautiful to ignore. Thank you, Felicia!
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author.
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author.
January 8, 2024
I received an ARC copy to review.
In AND, Felicia Murrell lays a feast and invites us to savor, but when presented with such an abundance, I found it hard to read this book slowly! Prose, poetry, psalm, prayer. A new flavor on every page, all encouraging us to “Love Hard. Be Human. Find Beauty.”
In AND, Felicia Murrell lays a feast and invites us to savor, but when presented with such an abundance, I found it hard to read this book slowly! Prose, poetry, psalm, prayer. A new flavor on every page, all encouraging us to “Love Hard. Be Human. Find Beauty.”
January 2, 2024
Felicia Murrell, my dear friend and exemplar asks, “Who are you in the eyes of Love?”
Through memories made vivid and her poetic treasury, Felicia Murrell gently guides me (yet again) back into Love’s embrace. There, in the “both/and” of my own real life—wounds and wonders, beauty and affliction—I remember again, I am beloved. I often forget. But Felicia’s kind voice represents, for me, what a healed conscience can become in full bloom.
I will wear this book out. For now, I am happy to have read an ARC of the book.
—Bradley Jersak
Principal, St. Stephen’s University
Author, Out of the Embers
Through memories made vivid and her poetic treasury, Felicia Murrell gently guides me (yet again) back into Love’s embrace. There, in the “both/and” of my own real life—wounds and wonders, beauty and affliction—I remember again, I am beloved. I often forget. But Felicia’s kind voice represents, for me, what a healed conscience can become in full bloom.
I will wear this book out. For now, I am happy to have read an ARC of the book.
—Bradley Jersak
Principal, St. Stephen’s University
Author, Out of the Embers
January 19, 2024
In her new book, &: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either Or World, Felicia Murrell has written a beautifully theopoetic invitation to the divine. I have been following the recommendation to read and rest in the words slowly and it has made this a book which crossed from the old year into the new. The bridge between years and what feels like seasons creates a space that is thin where earth and heaven live alongside one another. The beauty of this book is its honesty, vulnerability, and invitation to abide in love. It has the potential to be transformative if we are open to the words within. The release date is February 13, 2024 and I recommend you preorder as soon as possible. I envision this being for those who live in faith as a lenten resource.
Faithfulness is deeper than systems, doctrines, and practices. Faithfulness is being willing to live in the questions of life such that we are open to beauty and vulnerable to pain. Invitation to sit with the Spirit in the experiences of life is a way that faithfulness can be lived out in our world. Felicia Murrell is faithful in telling her story and welcoming us into an invitation to hear her story. There is pain, joy, and the full range of human emotion clear in the pages of &. The invitation to inclusive love is unmistakably one of invitation with the divine. The invitation of this book is also a confrontation; one in which we are privy to race, body, the Church, and imaginative wonder. This is a beautifully authentic book that incites us into the messiness of humanity as it shines a light on the pain of prejudice and the joy of finding love.
While I often hear music when I read works of the heart, I am not sure that a single book has stirred such a variety of musical voices in my mind and heart. As I read I hear Etta James, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, AC/DC, Eminem, NWA, Wu Tang Clan, The Beastie Boys, U2, Sting, The Clash, The Ramones, and so many other sounds. Sometimes I hear the music that goes with words alluding to songs, but mostly the emotion and reality of life lived evokes those sounds in my heart. The wisdom within this book is such that it invites us to experience wisdom through the uniting and restorative power of love. It is an invitation to transformation. I might dare say, an invitation to holiness found in the human experience when open to love.
One quote is sitting with me as I write this review. “Acceptance is not the same thing as being okay with something. Just because I have accepted something…does not mean I am okay with it.” This quote speaks volumes once you understand the context of the author’s own experiences. As a woman who grew up in the southern U.S. where skin color determined access to commerce, education, and safety, the book gives a glimpse into the lives of human beings who were and are often thought of in subhuman ways. But there is hope within that story because we are invited to learn and listen so that we can enter relational love as we are stitched together through love with one another. Hope is something we all need.
I cannot think of a book I have read recently which could remind me of my childhood in which the contrast between my family and that of the other families in our rural neighborhood is illuminated. That early experience in which those differences melted away as I our family showed an openness to invitation to be stitched into a neighborhood and the lives of those in the neighborhood where I would learn a different history than what the schools were teaching. & has the potential to invite us into a conversation where we experience beauty and pain that points to love’s ability to bring us together. I pray that those who read this book will be open to that truth.
Faithfulness is deeper than systems, doctrines, and practices. Faithfulness is being willing to live in the questions of life such that we are open to beauty and vulnerable to pain. Invitation to sit with the Spirit in the experiences of life is a way that faithfulness can be lived out in our world. Felicia Murrell is faithful in telling her story and welcoming us into an invitation to hear her story. There is pain, joy, and the full range of human emotion clear in the pages of &. The invitation to inclusive love is unmistakably one of invitation with the divine. The invitation of this book is also a confrontation; one in which we are privy to race, body, the Church, and imaginative wonder. This is a beautifully authentic book that incites us into the messiness of humanity as it shines a light on the pain of prejudice and the joy of finding love.
While I often hear music when I read works of the heart, I am not sure that a single book has stirred such a variety of musical voices in my mind and heart. As I read I hear Etta James, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, AC/DC, Eminem, NWA, Wu Tang Clan, The Beastie Boys, U2, Sting, The Clash, The Ramones, and so many other sounds. Sometimes I hear the music that goes with words alluding to songs, but mostly the emotion and reality of life lived evokes those sounds in my heart. The wisdom within this book is such that it invites us to experience wisdom through the uniting and restorative power of love. It is an invitation to transformation. I might dare say, an invitation to holiness found in the human experience when open to love.
One quote is sitting with me as I write this review. “Acceptance is not the same thing as being okay with something. Just because I have accepted something…does not mean I am okay with it.” This quote speaks volumes once you understand the context of the author’s own experiences. As a woman who grew up in the southern U.S. where skin color determined access to commerce, education, and safety, the book gives a glimpse into the lives of human beings who were and are often thought of in subhuman ways. But there is hope within that story because we are invited to learn and listen so that we can enter relational love as we are stitched together through love with one another. Hope is something we all need.
I cannot think of a book I have read recently which could remind me of my childhood in which the contrast between my family and that of the other families in our rural neighborhood is illuminated. That early experience in which those differences melted away as I our family showed an openness to invitation to be stitched into a neighborhood and the lives of those in the neighborhood where I would learn a different history than what the schools were teaching. & has the potential to invite us into a conversation where we experience beauty and pain that points to love’s ability to bring us together. I pray that those who read this book will be open to that truth.
January 29, 2024
Felicia Murrell's "AND: The Restorative Power of Love" takes you on a heartfelt journey into love's true essence, seen through the eyes of someone deeply connected to its life-changing power. Imagine having a heart-to-heart with Felicia herself – that's exactly how it feels to read her on the page. Felicia's approach is refreshingly open-ended, offering a nurturing guide for anyone who's questioning, seeking, or simply living in love's embrace.
"AND" is more than just a collection of journal entries, poems and musings on paper –– though that alone would be an incredible gift to the world –– it's an invitation to sit with her grace, vulnerability and wisdom, and in turn, to own your own. Felicia gently nudges you to think beyond ambition and societal expectations, to rediscover the pure essence of just being. She shares a beautiful idea: our lives aren't about grand callings but about the simple, profound act of loving and being loved. This perspective is a liberating shift, especially for those of us who have been deeply rooted in evangelical Christian faith communities. If you've ever found yourself wondering who you are outside of that world, this book is like a warm, guiding hand leading you back to what it really means to be human – to love and be loved.
As you flip through the pages, I hope that as I did, between the whisper of “I love you.” from the Divine, and the whisper of “I love you.” from inside, you will find a heart that leaks, “I love you,” the greatest commandment.
"AND" is more than just a collection of journal entries, poems and musings on paper –– though that alone would be an incredible gift to the world –– it's an invitation to sit with her grace, vulnerability and wisdom, and in turn, to own your own. Felicia gently nudges you to think beyond ambition and societal expectations, to rediscover the pure essence of just being. She shares a beautiful idea: our lives aren't about grand callings but about the simple, profound act of loving and being loved. This perspective is a liberating shift, especially for those of us who have been deeply rooted in evangelical Christian faith communities. If you've ever found yourself wondering who you are outside of that world, this book is like a warm, guiding hand leading you back to what it really means to be human – to love and be loved.
As you flip through the pages, I hope that as I did, between the whisper of “I love you.” from the Divine, and the whisper of “I love you.” from inside, you will find a heart that leaks, “I love you,” the greatest commandment.
January 9, 2024
I was honored to receive an advanced reader copy of this book.
It has been said that beauty is the truest way to communicate to the heart in our chaotic, wounded world. Beauty stirs and speaks beyond the mind and into the deep places. Beauty is where I meet God. And God is dancing on every page of Felicia Murrell’s poetic masterpiece, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World. Her words come from the wisdom gleaned by those who know the underside, the place where privilege and power have conspired to grind down and discard so many, and reveals that paradoxically, that is the very place where Jesus ecstatically resides with his Beloveds. She brilliantly invites us to see and be tender towards that same pain place we each have experienced and try to deny, and to hold all the inconsistencies, dualisms, and lies up to the gaze of Love upon us. We are healed within this utterly beautiful gaze. We behold the beauty of God. I believe we are looking at a new Christian classic.
It has been said that beauty is the truest way to communicate to the heart in our chaotic, wounded world. Beauty stirs and speaks beyond the mind and into the deep places. Beauty is where I meet God. And God is dancing on every page of Felicia Murrell’s poetic masterpiece, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World. Her words come from the wisdom gleaned by those who know the underside, the place where privilege and power have conspired to grind down and discard so many, and reveals that paradoxically, that is the very place where Jesus ecstatically resides with his Beloveds. She brilliantly invites us to see and be tender towards that same pain place we each have experienced and try to deny, and to hold all the inconsistencies, dualisms, and lies up to the gaze of Love upon us. We are healed within this utterly beautiful gaze. We behold the beauty of God. I believe we are looking at a new Christian classic.
January 27, 2024
Wow!
This book is a brilliant invitation to live with new insight of what community AND vulnerability AND - most of all - Love can look like as we embrace the Truth these words offer to us.
Felicia’s masterful writing explore a new journey that we - the reader - can choose to take that will captivate and create opportunities of expansion that will impact us AND the way we interact with the diversity of others with empathy and compassion.
The challenge to understand what unity can look like while allowing others to be different than us is powerful AND divine - one that depends on us learning to lean into Love so it may transform us. The depth of this challenge is 100% worth it!
Take a deep breath and go. You will learn to move AND be AND - dare I say - breath in the deep. You will also discover currents is this
new depth to develop unforced rhythms of interacting with yourself AND the communities AND the culture you have the privilege serving!
Don’t wait- get this book and take the plunge!
*I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author.
This book is a brilliant invitation to live with new insight of what community AND vulnerability AND - most of all - Love can look like as we embrace the Truth these words offer to us.
Felicia’s masterful writing explore a new journey that we - the reader - can choose to take that will captivate and create opportunities of expansion that will impact us AND the way we interact with the diversity of others with empathy and compassion.
The challenge to understand what unity can look like while allowing others to be different than us is powerful AND divine - one that depends on us learning to lean into Love so it may transform us. The depth of this challenge is 100% worth it!
Take a deep breath and go. You will learn to move AND be AND - dare I say - breath in the deep. You will also discover currents is this
new depth to develop unforced rhythms of interacting with yourself AND the communities AND the culture you have the privilege serving!
Don’t wait- get this book and take the plunge!
*I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author.
August 15, 2025
If you've been asking yourself recently, "How can I love people better?" this could be a helpful read, while also challenging. Felicia discusses a broad range of areas in which we can be insensitive, lacking empathy and unkind to others, for reasons including ignorance, assumptions, and our own past hurts.
The author recommends making space to hear people's stories, particularly who are different to ourselves, and allowing others to make their own choices without the need to dominate and control. She explains our tendency to want to surround ourselves with people who are like us because it's comfortable, but urges us to learn to sit in discomfort and to allow people to share their hurts and pains with us. Comforting people by acknowledging that we hear them is far more loving than dismissing or telling them to "pray harder" or just to "trust God more."
I appreciated the various writing styles the author employs to not only tell her own story, but to encourage readers to work on healing ourselves first in order to be more effective in loving those around us.
The author recommends making space to hear people's stories, particularly who are different to ourselves, and allowing others to make their own choices without the need to dominate and control. She explains our tendency to want to surround ourselves with people who are like us because it's comfortable, but urges us to learn to sit in discomfort and to allow people to share their hurts and pains with us. Comforting people by acknowledging that we hear them is far more loving than dismissing or telling them to "pray harder" or just to "trust God more."
I appreciated the various writing styles the author employs to not only tell her own story, but to encourage readers to work on healing ourselves first in order to be more effective in loving those around us.
January 22, 2024
I was blessed to receive an advanced reader copy of this marvelous book. I have been a recipient of Felicia's gift for years. She provides what I use to tell my students when reading to them, a Mind Movie. I tried to be obedient, and do as she suggested in the Introduction, chunk it out, but, damn, I couldn't it down.
The gift of poetry throughtout had many different tones. I felt the desire to reexamine the way that I expressed love.
Candidness and passion were evident throughout as she defined what love should look like, what acceptance of others should look like, and what cohabitating in an Either/Or world should be.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to begin loving themselves and improve how they express love to others.
The gift of poetry throughtout had many different tones. I felt the desire to reexamine the way that I expressed love.
Candidness and passion were evident throughout as she defined what love should look like, what acceptance of others should look like, and what cohabitating in an Either/Or world should be.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to begin loving themselves and improve how they express love to others.
February 7, 2024
What to say about a book so profound yet so simple... The book flows like poetry and speaks to the soul - the cry of longing in every person's breast.
Felicia Murrell captures an ideal that I believe all human beings would aspire to. The ideal of peace rather than conflict, harmony rather than choosing sides and demonising the 'other' is what she addresses here BUT in the reading it becomes a personal challenge - to me, how will I live this ideal?
And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World isn't a book that can be digested in a sitting. This powerful volume is deliberately written in bite sized chunks for meditating and pondering upon the wisdom within and the questions that arise.
I highly reccomend this book
Felicia Murrell captures an ideal that I believe all human beings would aspire to. The ideal of peace rather than conflict, harmony rather than choosing sides and demonising the 'other' is what she addresses here BUT in the reading it becomes a personal challenge - to me, how will I live this ideal?
And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World isn't a book that can be digested in a sitting. This powerful volume is deliberately written in bite sized chunks for meditating and pondering upon the wisdom within and the questions that arise.
I highly reccomend this book
January 12, 2024
I received an ARC an exchange for this review and I am so glad I did! I am blown away by her insight and wisdom.
For example this passage, “Justice is love, lived in our actions and acknowledgment of humanity, no matter how alike or different that human is.
Justice is right alignment. Every person on the planet has the right to exist in their own skin and to walk out their journey with the Divine in their own way without my policing their path based on my agreement with their decisions or my own personal beliefs.
How uncomfortable do my ideas make you?”
I feel like I’m at church in all the best ways! This is a book to relish and linger on. It is so good!
For example this passage, “Justice is love, lived in our actions and acknowledgment of humanity, no matter how alike or different that human is.
Justice is right alignment. Every person on the planet has the right to exist in their own skin and to walk out their journey with the Divine in their own way without my policing their path based on my agreement with their decisions or my own personal beliefs.
How uncomfortable do my ideas make you?”
I feel like I’m at church in all the best ways! This is a book to relish and linger on. It is so good!
January 30, 2024
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author, whom I've followed and journeyed with, as a fellow author, for around 3 years. As a white middle age Australian guy, I found Felicia's honest and graceful recollection of her upbringing insightful and sadly, not surprising given humanities history with racism. What was wonderfully surprising was Felicia's ability to include and transcend the experiences and, with God, weave it into a beautiful book (life) of lessons, poetry and convictions that left me inspired to own my own messy story and lean into the power of AND.
P.S. I would give it 4.5 stars, if that was an option.
P.S. I would give it 4.5 stars, if that was an option.
January 2, 2024
I was honored to receive an ARC and review this book. In AND: The Thread of Love, Felicia Murrell gives us a gift of love we are meant to experience. If taken slowly, thoughtfully, bravely, this book will heal us, individually and together. Weaving together poetry and prose, Felicia shares vulnerably, guiding us from her own story to encourage, challenge, confront and call us to love. This beautiful, healing book takes us on an embodied journey, inviting us to fully inhabit our humanity, to defy our divides, to live as one.
February 13, 2024
I don't read "Christian" books anymore now that I have come out of organized religion; however, I have history with this author and was invited to read an advanced copy of "And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World". It took me a bit of time to set aside my preconceived ideas to begin the book and then the author suggested that we take our time and soak in the words but the book is so good that I had to stop myself a few times to slow down. The words hit home. There are moments of self help like; "But again, my heart compels you- let's do the work of healing" and "Expectations tie us to outcomes. Expectations are often disappointments waiting to happen because people are one variable that we cannot control, even though it never stops us from trying." The poetry reaches down deep and touches places that have been buried. "Listen to the sound of the genuine within you and say yes to that." The art work itself speaks it's own language of love and healing.
If you are interested in growing your love response, seeing beyond binaries and organizational hierarchy, and embracing inclusion, then please read this book.
As Mother Teresa said; "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
If you are interested in growing your love response, seeing beyond binaries and organizational hierarchy, and embracing inclusion, then please read this book.
As Mother Teresa said; "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
January 21, 2024
I have received an ARC from the author for this review. I resonate with so much of this book. Particularly wirh my upbringing as a little girl of color in WV in the sixties. I remember getting in big trouble because I went home with Jill, Jody, and Jan after school and had dinner. They served fried green tomatoes I will never forget that time and the reaction of Mama and Daddy when I was brought home. Let's just say it was uncomfortable to sit down for a couple of days. Jill, Jody, and Jan were the white tripletts that I went to school with but wasn't allowed to play with any other time. I questioned then and for many years after why that was wrong. I now find myself as a teacher in a time when history is threatened to be erased! The pain and suffering of my ancestors obliterated from pages of books that I can't read to my students any longer. Questions that still linger from pulpit teachings that left me feeling I was missing something.
Throughout this writing Felicia has graciously guided me back to the love and healing of my heart. One thing she says is"we think we have many problems, but we actually have one, lack of love." When you think about that statement it is powerful. She goes on to say "we as a society have made life about being right instead on being loved". OMG!! Think about that statement. Powerful powerful nuggets throughout this book. If we would just turn to Love. Thank you Felicia for this rich meal. I will continue to eat from this again and again.
Throughout this writing Felicia has graciously guided me back to the love and healing of my heart. One thing she says is"we think we have many problems, but we actually have one, lack of love." When you think about that statement it is powerful. She goes on to say "we as a society have made life about being right instead on being loved". OMG!! Think about that statement. Powerful powerful nuggets throughout this book. If we would just turn to Love. Thank you Felicia for this rich meal. I will continue to eat from this again and again.
January 3, 2024
I received an advanced readers copy of this book. As I read this book, I notice that it is a gentle AND fierce experience with how I view each person, individually and in people groups. Felicia Murrell has done a truly masterful job!
February 21, 2025
I borrowed the book from the library and had only 21 days in which to read it. It's definitely a book to read slowly and reflect on each small section. I may have to buy a copy and re-read it very slowly. I love how she reminds me to look at life with "and" rather than either/or.
March 29, 2024
Review coming.
October 9, 2024
AND I will be returning to reread this book again AND again AND again.
March 16, 2025
If you only read one book this year, let this be the one. We all need love and healing. This shows us how to be loving healers.
January 23, 2024
I received an ARC in exchange for this review. Felicia's way with prose and poetry gets underneath those "watchful dragons" that want us to be satisfied with the status quo. Her writing calls us to Love, to see beyond the either/or way of looking at ourselves, our fellow human beings, and indeed all of creation. It is an invitation to growth, to being transformed by Love so that "the core of our existence, the truth of our being, is no longer masked or hidden to us. Our minds are renewed so that we may believe what Love believes about us." It's the kind of book that needs to be absorbed slowly, meditatively, and with a highlighter in hand.
February 11, 2024
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for this review.
Intuition...Spirit....Love lead me to AND.
I didn't know how healing it would be...
It's 3:00 am and I am weeping...and healing...
Thanks Felicia Murrell- for the balm my soul is absorbing like
water for thirst.
The ONENESS I am experiencing is rich.
The gift of this book is enabling me to experience Holy Scripture
again. It's been many years now that I haven't been able to bring
myself to even read from that book that is supposed to be the
center of faith (according to fundamentalist conditioning.)
Felicia's use of the endearment "Love" and "Holy Three" has served
to ease my weary brain back into sacred texts with grace.
This page from AND describes what I have often said seems to
be the overarching theme of this life for me: LOSS.
"Loss is a b*tch.
It grabs you by the gut at the most unassuming time and compresses your insides until sadness tickles the back of your throat.
But I’m learning to feel helpless, not hopeless, at the same time.
I’m learning to look for Love’s abundant goodness
without having any expectation of what that looks like…
all at the same time.
Life is happy and sad,
good and full of risks and challenges,
sometimes all at the same time.
Breathe, I tell my soul.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Love has this
…even when I’m experiencing loss."
Page 275
AND is an excellent rendering of wisdom gleaned from Felicia Murrell's deep experience of living.
I highly recommend it!
Intuition...Spirit....Love lead me to AND.
I didn't know how healing it would be...
It's 3:00 am and I am weeping...and healing...
Thanks Felicia Murrell- for the balm my soul is absorbing like
water for thirst.
The ONENESS I am experiencing is rich.
The gift of this book is enabling me to experience Holy Scripture
again. It's been many years now that I haven't been able to bring
myself to even read from that book that is supposed to be the
center of faith (according to fundamentalist conditioning.)
Felicia's use of the endearment "Love" and "Holy Three" has served
to ease my weary brain back into sacred texts with grace.
This page from AND describes what I have often said seems to
be the overarching theme of this life for me: LOSS.
"Loss is a b*tch.
It grabs you by the gut at the most unassuming time and compresses your insides until sadness tickles the back of your throat.
But I’m learning to feel helpless, not hopeless, at the same time.
I’m learning to look for Love’s abundant goodness
without having any expectation of what that looks like…
all at the same time.
Life is happy and sad,
good and full of risks and challenges,
sometimes all at the same time.
Breathe, I tell my soul.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Love has this
…even when I’m experiencing loss."
Page 275
AND is an excellent rendering of wisdom gleaned from Felicia Murrell's deep experience of living.
I highly recommend it!
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