n unsettling and uncertain times, the individual and collective heartbreak that lives in our bodies and communities can feel insurmountable. Many of us have been conditioned by the dominant culture to not name, focus on, or wade through the difficulties of our lives. But in order to heal, we must make space for grief and prioritize our wholeness, our humanity, and our inherent divinity.
In Finding Refuge, social justice activist, social worker, and yoga teacher Michelle Cassandra Johnson offers those who feel brokenhearted, helpless, confused, powerless, and desperate the tools they need to be present with their grief while also remaining openhearted. Through powerful personal narrative and meditation and journaling practices at the end of each chapter that explore being present with your heart, Michelle empowers us to see that each of us has a role to play in building enough momentum to take intentional action and shift what is unsettled and unjust in the world. Finding Refuge is an invitation to pick up the shattered parts of yourself and remember your strength, wholeness, and sacredness through this practice of presence and attending to your grief.
Contents
Foreword by Amy Buritaine
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Turning toward My Own Grief
Shared Language
1. The Root
2. A Little of This Practice
3. Wholeness
4. Enlarged Hearts
5. Ushering Us
6. The Hive Mind
7. The Taproot
Epilogue
About the Author
“[Johnson] empowers us to see that each of us has a role to play in building enough momentum to take intentional action and shift what is unsettled and unjust in the world.”—Shelf Awareness
“Yogi, Dismantling Racism trainer, and therapist Johnson’s cathartic second book is a guide to healing collective grief written largely amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the concurrent social unrest of 2020. Drawing from her life experiences, Johnson creates userfriendly, meditative spiritual practices to assist readers in confronting grief head-on to bring healing and learning from it.”—Booklist
“Social worker and yoga teacher Johnson suggests uplifting methods for processing grief resulting from cultural trauma and systemic oppression. Spiritualists interested in social justice will get much out of Johnson’s engaging stories, practical advice, and contemplative practices.”—Publishers Weekly
You might also be interested in:
