Resources
Updated quarterly!
We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been — a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free. - Starhawk, Dreaming the Dark
Practical
Events
Death Cafe at Lakewood Cemetery. A free monthly talk about mortality in Uptown, run by a death doula. October's is Thursday, Oct 15, 5–6pm, with November and December dates scheduled too. The gathering begins with coffee, tea, and cake, followed by a brief 5-minute opening meditation, casual introductions, open group conversation steered by participants' thoughts, and a closing grounding meditation. Death Cafe was created in 2011 when Jon Underwood from London, England held his first Death Cafe in his home with his mother. The goal was increasing the awareness of death to help people make the most of their finite lives.
Winter Solstice at Powderhorn Park, put on by In the Heart of the Beast. A free lantern gathering on the longest night, usually around Dec 20, 6–9pm, with lantern-making workshops beforehand. Everyone together in the dark, carrying light
Places
Quatrefoil Library. A Minneapolis LGBTQ lending library and community space, and the second-oldest queer library in the US. It's a quiet, warm place to be around your people when going home for the holidays is complicated.
Books
Wintering by Katherine May. Treats hard stretches of life as seasons to get through, not failures.
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit. Redefines hope not as a guarantee of a happy ending, but as an active commitment to action in an uncertain future
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price. Pushes back on year-end productivity guilt, written by an autistic author.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson. Practical reading before a Thanksgiving that might not go well.
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A short book on gift economies.
Podcasts
Terrible, Thanks for Asking by Nora McInerny, now Thanks For Asking. Grief and messy lives, told honestly and with humor.
How to Survive the End of the World by adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown. Climate collapse and organizing, worked through with real feeling.