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Counterweights: An Essential Practice for Holding Hope in a Heavy World
In life, there are moments that are terrible and moments that are sublime. Most of our lives fall somewhere in between--the ordinary hours crammed with small griefs and pops of joy. We move through the world with one fist full of possibility and the other clutching panic. It's easy to slip into the belief that the life we dream of is waiting somewhere past the daily grind. But this is our actual life; we only get to do it once. So much is out of our control--but not everything. What can we do today to offset the heaviness and remain upright and hopeful through it all?
With humor, humility, and a voice all her own, Shannan Martin introduces you to the heart-changing concept of the essential practice of holding both the good and the bad with honesty and hope. She shows you how to notice the ordinary, accessible delights hiding in plain sight--reminders that even in tough times, life can be beautiful and deeply good.
If you're overwhelmed, weary, or burned out, Counterweights is your invitation to receive the chaotic abundance of being alive, cultivating strength and joy along the way.
With humor, humility, and a voice all her own, Shannan Martin introduces you to the heart-changing concept of the essential practice of holding both the good and the bad with honesty and hope. She shows you how to notice the ordinary, accessible delights hiding in plain sight--reminders that even in tough times, life can be beautiful and deeply good.
If you're overwhelmed, weary, or burned out, Counterweights is your invitation to receive the chaotic abundance of being alive, cultivating strength and joy along the way.
240 pages, Paperback
Published March 24, 2026
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March 16, 2026Reviewed in the March 2026 edition of Quick Lit on Modern Mrs Darcy:
This was one of my most-anticipated spring titles: as hoped, it was the right book at the right time for me and I'm certain I won't be the only one. How can we possibly bear all the heaviness the world is throwing our way? Shannan's encouragement in these pages is to look for the counterweights. She quotes her father—a man handy with tools of all kinds—to explain: "From the time my siblings and I were small, he taught us that carrying something heavy becomes more efficient, more doable, if we carry something equally heavy in the other hand.” If the bad in the world is heavy in one hand, Shannan urges you to load up the other hand with goodness—those things that help bring some sense of steadiness to a wobbling world. Some of Shannan's favorite counterweights are thrifting, freshly washed sheets, anything pickled, and neighborly kindness, but this book includes countless invitations for readers to notice the good in their worlds. Shannan is no Pollyanna in these pages, she knows the hard is HARD and doesn't shy away from naming it as such. But is this still a world that sings sometimes? Indeed. I highlighted the heck out of this; I found it to be grounding and needed and I am highly likely to read it again soon in its entirety. (Shannan’s writing is rooted in her Christian faith but I believe her writing to be hospitable to a wide audience.)
This was one of my most-anticipated spring titles: as hoped, it was the right book at the right time for me and I'm certain I won't be the only one. How can we possibly bear all the heaviness the world is throwing our way? Shannan's encouragement in these pages is to look for the counterweights. She quotes her father—a man handy with tools of all kinds—to explain: "From the time my siblings and I were small, he taught us that carrying something heavy becomes more efficient, more doable, if we carry something equally heavy in the other hand.” If the bad in the world is heavy in one hand, Shannan urges you to load up the other hand with goodness—those things that help bring some sense of steadiness to a wobbling world. Some of Shannan's favorite counterweights are thrifting, freshly washed sheets, anything pickled, and neighborly kindness, but this book includes countless invitations for readers to notice the good in their worlds. Shannan is no Pollyanna in these pages, she knows the hard is HARD and doesn't shy away from naming it as such. But is this still a world that sings sometimes? Indeed. I highlighted the heck out of this; I found it to be grounding and needed and I am highly likely to read it again soon in its entirety. (Shannan’s writing is rooted in her Christian faith but I believe her writing to be hospitable to a wide audience.)
March 24, 2026
You know that part in the Barbie movie when the Barbies are dancing to upbeat music and, mid-choreography, Barbie says, “Do you ever think about death?” That’s me—and reading Counterweights made me think I should reconsider my approach.
Shannan has the background to be a card-carrying, all-caps Evangelical Christian Republican, but she has allowed her life among her neighbors to stretch her table longer and wider, making room for a community that extends beyond church or politics.
She regularly draws our attention to the hard things happening around us, but she also balances the work of paying attention with the beauty, humor, and good food found in everyday life—her counterweights. When the headlines threaten the peace and safety of our neighbors, Shannan reminds us of the importance of carrying that weight: “We cannot counterweight what we avoid or minimize.” By naming what is heavy, we open ourselves to hope. The result of this “one foot in the grave and one foot in the garden” (I wrote this line down IMMEDIATELY) philosophy is a collection of essays—each chapter pairing something difficult with something that restores.
Shannan names griefs drawn from the headlines, her own faith story, and her work at a local soup kitchen, and then follows each one with a litany of things that bring her joy: thrift store finds, lemon curd, and the way the Right Reverend Taylor Swift can guide you through a church breakup.
This book is for the doom-scroller, the cynic, and the news-weary reader who needs a reminder that the peonies are pushing up through the dirt RIGHT NOW. It’s also for the sky-watcher, the beauty-collector, and the friend group that mixes dire news with funny memes in their text thread.
Shannan has the background to be a card-carrying, all-caps Evangelical Christian Republican, but she has allowed her life among her neighbors to stretch her table longer and wider, making room for a community that extends beyond church or politics.
She regularly draws our attention to the hard things happening around us, but she also balances the work of paying attention with the beauty, humor, and good food found in everyday life—her counterweights. When the headlines threaten the peace and safety of our neighbors, Shannan reminds us of the importance of carrying that weight: “We cannot counterweight what we avoid or minimize.” By naming what is heavy, we open ourselves to hope. The result of this “one foot in the grave and one foot in the garden” (I wrote this line down IMMEDIATELY) philosophy is a collection of essays—each chapter pairing something difficult with something that restores.
Shannan names griefs drawn from the headlines, her own faith story, and her work at a local soup kitchen, and then follows each one with a litany of things that bring her joy: thrift store finds, lemon curd, and the way the Right Reverend Taylor Swift can guide you through a church breakup.
This book is for the doom-scroller, the cynic, and the news-weary reader who needs a reminder that the peonies are pushing up through the dirt RIGHT NOW. It’s also for the sky-watcher, the beauty-collector, and the friend group that mixes dire news with funny memes in their text thread.
April 16, 2026
If I could give this book six stars, I would. A perfect book for such a time as this.
April 14, 2026
Shannan’s writing will most likely always be a 5 🌟for me. Her lyrical prose and voice in this world is a true counterweight in my life. I’m almost 50, I grew up in the church and was a conservative Christian for much of my life. When your ideology changes and you stay in the church, things get a bit bumpy and you question yourself and everything around you for a while. When other voices speak your heart, it heals in ways that I cannot describe. This author does that for me. I always feel encouraged by Shannan’s honesty. She’s not trying to spin all of the ugliness into a pretty web. She lives in the mess AND finds the beauty - aka counterweights. I always close her books feeling more hopeful than when I started and best of all I anticipate what’s next in this complicated, beautiful, mess of a life. 💕
May 30, 2026
A book to read slowly. Life is hard and the world is broken, but pause just a moment and you will see the good and beautiful, and it may just surprise you when it comes where you least expect it. It's in your everyday life, in the people you love, and the neighbor that will show you its vastness if you only pause long enough to see them.
April 28, 2026
I love Shannan’s authentic and gritty writing. She calls us to see both the beauty and the grief of our everyday lives and doesn’t minimize either part. She calls us to work for justice and love our neighbors right where we are. She calls us to find the daily counterweights to keep going in a way that is real and tangible.
May 30, 2026
Wow, I loved this - walking through my own hard & also beautiful season this book came at the perfect time. Loved the writing, the format, & the invitation to document my own counterweights that help balance the heaviness of being a person in the world. Also, Shannan beautifully embodies the Beatitudes in her own life & I’m inspired by how she neighbors & forms kinship with those who have different lived experiences from her own. 5 ⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️
‘’The practice of gathering counterweights is about creating moments of sustenance from the raw materials of what we’re given. It is about holding everything in honest tension. Both/ and. Our counterweights help us move forward and breathe through the heaviness. At their best, they can’t be bought or sold. They aren’t a matter of luck or reserved for the privileged. They are widely accessible and casually weird, entirely personal and communal to their core. They are their own reward. And they are happening all the time, ready to steady us on our feet.’’
‘’The practice of gathering counterweights is about creating moments of sustenance from the raw materials of what we’re given. It is about holding everything in honest tension. Both/ and. Our counterweights help us move forward and breathe through the heaviness. At their best, they can’t be bought or sold. They aren’t a matter of luck or reserved for the privileged. They are widely accessible and casually weird, entirely personal and communal to their core. They are their own reward. And they are happening all the time, ready to steady us on our feet.’’
April 10, 2026
3 1/2 🌟--52 Club BC prompt #41 A Guide to....
How to find the beauty and blessings amongst the hard things in life; counterweights....there's a bad thing, but how can we counterwieght that with a good thing?
I enjoyed most of the writing and ideas, but she loves metaphors, and after a while, I felt like I was wading through so many metaphors. It got a little more political than I like. It's her story, so whatever, but politics turns me off.
Overall, I like the premise of counterweights and her examples of looking for the them within your own neighborhood and community, God's creation, and even the mundane.
How to find the beauty and blessings amongst the hard things in life; counterweights....there's a bad thing, but how can we counterwieght that with a good thing?
I enjoyed most of the writing and ideas, but she loves metaphors, and after a while, I felt like I was wading through so many metaphors. It got a little more political than I like. It's her story, so whatever, but politics turns me off.
Overall, I like the premise of counterweights and her examples of looking for the them within your own neighborhood and community, God's creation, and even the mundane.
July 11, 2026
If you follow Indiana-based author Shannan Martin, and I do, then you already likely know that my timing for finally checking out her latest release "Counterweights: An Essential Practice for Holding Hope in a Heavy World" is particularly meaningful as the non-profit she has long worked for and which she writes about often has, at least temporarily, closed up.
Martin, who spoke at my church at a time when my health would not let me attend, has become one of my favorite literary voices and it just delights me to no end that she's based right here in my home state.
Martin likely falls within the genre, or maybe sub-genre, of women's Christian living. For a variety of reasons, it's an area of writing with which I've always resonated. The Martin captured in "Counterweights" really captures why I appreciate her writing - it's hope-filled yet aware of the surrounding world and Martin's storytelling largely avoids the rose-colored glasses I often find with some other faith-based, or maybe faith-centered, writers.
In "Counterweights," we get Martin acknowledging that in many ways the world sucks (my word, not hers) and thus her "counterweights" are relevant, personal, impactful, and incredibly meaningful. As an author who so vividly portrays loving one's neighbor, Martin seems to have taken off the glistening sheen of a faithful life in favor of something real and honest. She and her husband, the latter being a chaplain, intentionally have chosen to live in an area that some would question yet doing so seems deeply ingrained in who she is. From her seemingly delightful family to her thrift store tendencies, Martin writes like someone you'd want to have as a neighbor.
I've appreciated Martin through such books as "The Ministry of Ordinary Places" and "Start with Hello," but in "Counterweights" I really begin to grasp who she is and why she's chosen the path she's chosen.
"Counterweights" is a weaving together of the moments that bring us to despair and the pops of joy that carry us through those moments. Chapter transitions are a delight, best left undescribed here, and I would consider it nearly impossible to finish this book without personal reflection and a whole lot of gratitude.
Even as she's experiencing her own challenges right now alongside my reading of this book, I'm seeing a woman who lives what she writes. That's why, perhaps, I resonate with her writing - it feels honest and truthful and not just a ploy to build a brand.
I have to confess that this is my first Martin title not read as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy), though I can't help but think I read it at exactly the right time (NOTE: It also coincided with my experiencing a car fire and taking a journey through that experience).
For the many who've grown to love Martin's writing, this will undoubtedly be yet another rewarding experience. For those Martin newbies, you need not have read previous titles to appreciate this one immensely.
I remain grateful for those authors who give us real-life in all its grit and grime, but then who show up with the counterweights to help us maintain hope in this heavy world.
Martin, who spoke at my church at a time when my health would not let me attend, has become one of my favorite literary voices and it just delights me to no end that she's based right here in my home state.
Martin likely falls within the genre, or maybe sub-genre, of women's Christian living. For a variety of reasons, it's an area of writing with which I've always resonated. The Martin captured in "Counterweights" really captures why I appreciate her writing - it's hope-filled yet aware of the surrounding world and Martin's storytelling largely avoids the rose-colored glasses I often find with some other faith-based, or maybe faith-centered, writers.
In "Counterweights," we get Martin acknowledging that in many ways the world sucks (my word, not hers) and thus her "counterweights" are relevant, personal, impactful, and incredibly meaningful. As an author who so vividly portrays loving one's neighbor, Martin seems to have taken off the glistening sheen of a faithful life in favor of something real and honest. She and her husband, the latter being a chaplain, intentionally have chosen to live in an area that some would question yet doing so seems deeply ingrained in who she is. From her seemingly delightful family to her thrift store tendencies, Martin writes like someone you'd want to have as a neighbor.
I've appreciated Martin through such books as "The Ministry of Ordinary Places" and "Start with Hello," but in "Counterweights" I really begin to grasp who she is and why she's chosen the path she's chosen.
"Counterweights" is a weaving together of the moments that bring us to despair and the pops of joy that carry us through those moments. Chapter transitions are a delight, best left undescribed here, and I would consider it nearly impossible to finish this book without personal reflection and a whole lot of gratitude.
Even as she's experiencing her own challenges right now alongside my reading of this book, I'm seeing a woman who lives what she writes. That's why, perhaps, I resonate with her writing - it feels honest and truthful and not just a ploy to build a brand.
I have to confess that this is my first Martin title not read as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy), though I can't help but think I read it at exactly the right time (NOTE: It also coincided with my experiencing a car fire and taking a journey through that experience).
For the many who've grown to love Martin's writing, this will undoubtedly be yet another rewarding experience. For those Martin newbies, you need not have read previous titles to appreciate this one immensely.
I remain grateful for those authors who give us real-life in all its grit and grime, but then who show up with the counterweights to help us maintain hope in this heavy world.
July 20, 2026
This book felt like a warm hug. My pendulum swings from caring too much to being too defeated to care at all—back and forth. The past decade has been more than exhausting. I know too much, am aware of too much suffering, and feel helpless to do anything about basically all of it. I need hope and happiness, but I feel guilty for the pleasures and comforts in my life while so much is horrible. And I feel guiltier still about the fact that a lot of times I feel horrible, even though I'm so privileged that I feel like I have no right to be anything less than happy and grateful. This book held all of that. And gently guided toward different routines and habits and ways of being, ways of holding all these tensions. I read this as physical book, reading most of it on the porch in the mornings during our unseasonably temperate May and June. And it was lovely. Will have to repeat and revisit my many highlights soon.
August 5, 2026
Love reading a book that is the right book at the right time. And this was that book for me. Listened on audio and will be rereading (and underlining, bracketing, and asterisking) my print copy.
"When a church is unsafe for anyone, it is unsafe for everyone. In the words of Emily P. Freeman, 'We were leaving, but we felt left.' Planted in fall's violent beauty, I knew the only right move for us was to get out."
"Doom clouds our vision, but hope does too."
"Writing this book was a soul-nourishing yet herculean task, not because there weren't enough counterweights to be found in my daily life but because they were so plentiful. After thinking and talking about counterweights as a concept for years, I have now come to rely on naming my weights and counterweights as an essential daily practice. What I know for sure, as a result, is that God's care is abundant and often downright strange. I am forever grateful, and I'll never stop searching."
"When a church is unsafe for anyone, it is unsafe for everyone. In the words of Emily P. Freeman, 'We were leaving, but we felt left.' Planted in fall's violent beauty, I knew the only right move for us was to get out."
"Doom clouds our vision, but hope does too."
"Writing this book was a soul-nourishing yet herculean task, not because there weren't enough counterweights to be found in my daily life but because they were so plentiful. After thinking and talking about counterweights as a concept for years, I have now come to rely on naming my weights and counterweights as an essential daily practice. What I know for sure, as a result, is that God's care is abundant and often downright strange. I am forever grateful, and I'll never stop searching."
April 12, 2026
How I feel about Counterweights and the author Shannan Martin —the short version: she’s like that one friend from middle school who could tell when you were upset and always knew the right thing to say to make you feel better, even if she couldn’t take away the pain .
The long version—She puts into words what our* (*women of a certain age who teased their bangs at some point in their childhood for the yearbook picture) hearts are feeling but we just couldn’t find the right words to say.
And when you read her words, your heart lifts a little, and you start to feel hope.
Because finally, someone has validated the weight you have been carrying and guides you on a journey to balance that fear/despair/anger/dissociation with feelings of joy/hope/art/love.
This is THE book. The one you read and re-read because the words are what you need.
One of my favorite quotes from this book: “I needed a change of pace that would bring me home to myself.”
The long version—She puts into words what our* (*women of a certain age who teased their bangs at some point in their childhood for the yearbook picture) hearts are feeling but we just couldn’t find the right words to say.
And when you read her words, your heart lifts a little, and you start to feel hope.
Because finally, someone has validated the weight you have been carrying and guides you on a journey to balance that fear/despair/anger/dissociation with feelings of joy/hope/art/love.
This is THE book. The one you read and re-read because the words are what you need.
One of my favorite quotes from this book: “I needed a change of pace that would bring me home to myself.”
May 19, 2026
She’s such a great writer. Such a great observer of life and reports it back to the home crowd with delicacy. I enjoy reading her writing. The idea of Counterweights is brilliant because we cannot ignore the hard but we also cannot forget the beauty. From beginning to end, she did a great job leading me back to that thread of weights and counterweights.
Page 16- “When wholeness is our goal, beauty is our emergency.”
22- her husband says no one should have to die to experience the kingdom of God
106- traveling is great and all, but big vacations can’t be our grand plan for maintaining equilibrium.
Page 16- “When wholeness is our goal, beauty is our emergency.”
22- her husband says no one should have to die to experience the kingdom of God
106- traveling is great and all, but big vacations can’t be our grand plan for maintaining equilibrium.
March 27, 2026
Shannan is a superb writer and this book speaks beautifully to our current cultural existential crisis. I love the format of this- short essays, interspersed with fun lists and 'extras'. The practice of naming the highs and lows, the happy and the crappy, the weight and the counterweight is nothing new, but Shannan mines the depths of its potential here. Holding the tension of pain and beauty together and seeing the deep goodness in our everyday, ordinary lives might just be what saves us. And Counterweights is a lovely guide for exactly that.
June 11, 2026
A lovely collection of essays that exolore the idea of countering our weights. That it is easier to carry something heavy (literally) if we carry something equally heavy in the other hand. What if we made it a practice to counter the hard things in our life with the abundance that also exists. I appreciated that these essays didn't come across as 'just be grateful' or 'try harder' or as toxic spirituality.
June 9, 2026
A good reminder to stay engaged with what’s difficult & terrible around us while savoring the little things each day that bring joy & beauty (“counter weights”). The author writes poetically and shares real-life stories of interactions with & perspectives of people that many would consider as being the bottom of society. It leaves you reconsidering what really matters in life.
August 21, 2026
A beautifully written book, bringing immense meaning to the every day, the mundane. I decided to listen to it, the audio being Shannan herself. This made it feel more raw & felt like a mantra as I was listening to it. Now it’s time to read the paperback & highlight & underline the wazoo out of all the incredible quotes that seemed to really hit home for me in so many unforeseen ways.
June 2, 2026
8.5/10
-Story / Structure:+1
-Characters: +1
-Writing style:+1
-Pacing: +.5
-Ending:+1
-Accuracy:+1
-Emotional impact:+.5
-Overall enjoyment: +1
-Did The Author Impact My Viewpoint:+.5
-Would I Recommend / Reread:+1
-Story / Structure:+1
-Characters: +1
-Writing style:+1
-Pacing: +.5
-Ending:+1
-Accuracy:+1
-Emotional impact:+.5
-Overall enjoyment: +1
-Did The Author Impact My Viewpoint:+.5
-Would I Recommend / Reread:+1
July 15, 2026
"We have a mandate to joy, not just for our own well-being, but so we are able to engage in the cause of humanity. When wholeness is our goal, beauty is our emergency...The practice of gathering counterweights is about creating moments of sustenance from the raw stuff we are given."
March 27, 2026
I’ll read anything Shannan Martin writes, but I’ve been anticipating this one. She is so thoughtful in teaching us how to hold the hard and the hopeful at the same time.
April 20, 2026
There aren’t enough stars for this one. I read it as slowly as I could, & I still cried that it was over. It’s such a healing balm for the times we live in and a call to action for hope in your own corner of this weary world.
April 24, 2026
Exactly what I needed right now.
May 11, 2026
A warm hug in the form of a book. And a book that makes you want to be a better person who loves everyone in your community more fully.
May 18, 2026
Beautiful collection of hopeful (but not trite) essays! Can’t wait to return to this one. I borrowed it from the library, but just might have to purchase it.
May 27, 2026
I thought this was Christian self-help, but was delighted to find it was a series of thoughtful essays.
June 14, 2026
This book of essays is SO GOOD!!! I read a few pages everyday & am so sad I just finished. This is my first book of Shannan’s to read, but it definitely won’t be my last! Her voice/words are ones I want in my ear regularly.
August 3, 2026
“God doesn’t change, so we must.”
“We shouldn’t have to die in order to experience the kingdom of God.”
“We shouldn’t have to die in order to experience the kingdom of God.”
April 13, 2026
Much needed words, especially in these troubled times. Ways to counterbalance the hard things with noticing the good.
April 25, 2026
3.8 ⭐️ Poetic memoir!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews