Heidi's Haven

  In A Field Guide for Genuine Community , Ben Connelly describes the need for a spiritual family that lives life together, and shares ways to find that and put it into practice. We are designed to gain in each other's strengths and learn in each other's weaknesses. The family needs you as much as you need them.  This book was written to help the reader deconstruct their individualistic and experiential views that are prevalent in our culture. Each chapter ends with a few ways to practice genuine community, a story of a strong spiritual family, and a discussion guide. The author states that this book is best worked through with your spiritual family so you can all learn and grow together. In my opinion, a lot of what the author said was true, but a lot was also just really cheesy. The 101 ways to practice family were often super specific and really only geared toward those with kids who hang out with those with kids. Overall, I didn't think this book was super impactful, an

The Nature of Small Birds  by Susie Finkbeiner is the story of a family. The story is told from the perspective of the father (Bruce), mother (Linda), and one of the daughters (Sonny) in three different periods of time. We see their relationships with each other and their other family members. As their life story is told, the book revolves around the adoption of their daughter Mindy from Vietnam after Operation Babylift, and adult Mindy's search to learn more about her past.  Throughout the book, Bruce loves to watch birds and pay attention to nature. Throughout the story, the birds become a metaphor for his daughters growing up and flying away.  This is a really sweet story. I enjoyed reading through each characters' perspectives--I wouldn't say there were certain chapters I dislike reading more than the others. It's a very fast and easy read, and the story keeps your attention. My biggest critique is that the story just....ends. I turned the page and was shocked when