We’re diving into our March Book Club takeaways in this post, and they’re as surprising as last month’s! I selected this month’s books just as I did the others–books I had on my shelf already and wanted to read. When I mapped out the year with one fiction and one nonfiction book each month, I did this randomly except for choosing a fun “beach” read for summer and a spooky book for October.
Yet something interesting is happening two months into the club. Last month’s books were connected in a way I never imagined. The same thing happened again this month! These two books seem so completely different. One is a scientific book about breathing; the other a lovely story about families in a small Illinois farming community. What could these two books possibly have in common?
One word. Life.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from a link, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
March Book Club Takeaways
The scientific book, Breath, by James Nestor, focuses on how to live a healthier and possibly longer life if we harness the power of our breath. The other book, The Saints of Whistle Grove by Katie Schuermann, welcomes us into a community of fictional and delightful believers who, while they may not breathe properly, know the power of the One who gives them what is best – eternal life. They both examine the question: how will you live your life?
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.
Romans 1:16-17
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
The New Science of Breath
This is what most would call a scientific book written by a journalist, so it’s fairly academic but not textbook-academic. It’s very readable and even fascinating in places. Nestor explains the science behind what we all take for granted– breathing. He has more than 200 endnotes and an up-to-date website with videos and studies galore.
He starts the book with his own story as a participant in a Stanford study on breathing where he and others cease to breathe through their noses for ten days. It’s complicated and made me cringe a little bit, but they could only breathe through their mouths. In the second part of the study, they only breathe through their noses. The consequences of breathing through his mouth are clear as are the benefits of breathing primarily through his nose.
This alone was fascinating to follow. He weaves into his personal story countless studies and interviews with quotes from scientists, dentists, speech-language pathologists, Mayo Clinic radiologists, and many more health and science experts.
One story that sticks in my mind is about a choir director in the 1950s and 60s who “treated” emphysema patients at a VA hospital with a rather unorthodox technique and received unbelievable results. One session is described by Nestor as “bizarre”: He invited a tenor to the table and “proceeded to jiggle Jones’s jaw, dig his hands into his waist, and rock him back and forth . . . He wiggled Jones’s hips and neck so violently that the singer almost fell off the table.”
His results were impressive. “A 55-year old man who had suffered advanced emphysema for eight years was able to leave the hospital and captain a boat down to Florida” (63). Nestor shares many more remarkable stories about how learning breathing techniques changed his health and that of many others.
The Lost Art of Breath
But this book is also more than science, as the title suggests. It’s also what I’ll loosely call a spiritual dive into breathing techniques and practices within Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, as well as others. At one point he talks about prayer. “These cultures and religions [including Christianity] all had somehow developed the same prayer techniques [earlier described as deep, slow breaths], requiring the same breathing patterns. And they all likely benefited from the same calming effect” (82). (A Christian prayer is completely different because we pray to the Creator Himself, but that’s a discussion for another time.)
I learned so much. We take in 25,000 breaths each day which translates to 30 pounds of air passing through our lungs. I learned about my diaphragm and the billions of molecules that affect my heart rate, digestion, mood; I learned (again) about the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system because I probably studied this in biology years ago; I learned about the tongue and the jaw and that crooked teeth may be a “disease of civilization” because we don’t chew like our ancestors did.
My takeaways?
- Pay attention to my breathing.
- Think about breathing through my nose more. (It’s a good thing.)
- Practice “box breathing” which has been around for a long time as a way to stay calm in tense situations. (Inhale to a count of 4; hold 4; exhale 4; hold 4; repeat.)
- Learn more. (Because of this book, I discovered a lot more information including this popular scientist’s episode on breath. Huberman talks about a simple technique for calming nerves, a physiological sigh.)
But my most important takeaway is praise to the Creator who designed all this. (And as a sidenote, unlike Nestor, I believe in God’s Word, Genesis, and how He created man, woman, with His breath, by the way.)
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Genesis 2:7
Yes, I marvel at the human body which God created. Everything is connected–our breath, each of the more than 28 trillion cells in our bodies, our noses, and even our nose hairs, aka cilia. He made each cell work with the air that we breathe and the carbon dioxide we exhale. And though this side of heaven, our bodies don’t work perfectly as He originally designed them, every breath we take is ordained by His good and gracious will. I want to do the best I can to take care of this one life and these many breaths that God has given to me.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:13-14
The Saints of Whistle Grove by Katie Schuermann
Such a lovely story, friends. If you want a feel-good book, even if it makes you cry a little, then pick this one up. I cried and laughed and held my breath in many places. (But then I exhaled too.)
Throughout, I was delighted and strengthened in my faith. (I love when a book does both of these.)
This story is a blend of the master Charles Dickens, the poet George Herbert, and the popular 20th century writer Jan Karon. It also has the feel of All Creatures Great and Small. Most importantly, the book is overflowing with God’s Word and with a Lutheran perspective.
I’ll explain those comments shortly, but first, the big picture.
The Big Picture
The book has 26 chapters with headings like “Saint Alwin” and “Saint Ludwig” and each one jumps back and forth from the 19th century into the 20th and the 21st and back to the 19th and so forth. Each chapter is told from a different point of view, a son searching for his mother, a daughter longing to belong, and it all centers on the cemetery of a small church in the small fictional town of Whistle Grove, Illinois.
Like Charles Dickens…
Like Charles Dickens, Schuermann has a cast of characters which made my head spin a little. Thankfully, she has five lovely Family Trees at the back of the book, so I didn’t have to take notes as I often do with Dickens. But it’s not just the number of characters. It’s also their interconnectedness, how each character’s story overlaps with this one and then this one. She creates a lovely tapestry of the people in this town and in the cemetery.
Like George Herbert…
Like George Herbert, the 19th century writer of one of my favorite poems, “The Pulley,” Schuermann invites us into a world filled with metaphor and imagery and abstract concepts that require some grappling to grasp. I don’t mean to say that her characters are not concrete. No, in fact they are quite believable and relatable. Completely! Her dialogue is just right. Descriptions are simple, effective, and lyrical. Like a poet, she does not spend words foolishly. She doesn’t shy away from hard things.
Like Jan Karon…
Much like Jan Karon, the author of the beloved Mitford Series, Schuermann builds a world filled with characters who are remarkably fresh and simple even for their depth and powerful theological messages. The characters knit and dig graves and stir stews. They play the fiddle and sing in the choir and argue over the food for the funeral. They also struggle with childlessness, death, and heartache.
And they trust in the Lord especially in the hard places.
Like All Creatures…
Interestingly, I was telling my husband about the book as I read it, and just this morning, I shared a summary of this post. He mentioned All Creatures Great and Small. Yes! You are so right, dear. (And he hasn’t even read the book yet.) I enjoyed All Creatures years ago and the newer series on PBS recently. Schuermann’s book feels similar. Let me give you one example in one of my favorite chapters called “Saint Johann 1867.” It brought me to tears. I’ll try not to give spoilers here, but know that Ludwig has buried his father and his beloved dog, Felix, is dying. The pastor comforts Ludwig as they talk about Resurrection Day:
Pastor draws slowly on his pipe, taking his time. He is a considerate man always, but especially when he is smoking . . . “Koktor Luther himself wrote that he fully expects to see his own dog restored to him in the resurrection, and with golden skin and hair made of pearls. And why not, I say? Jesus promises to create a new heaven and a new earth when he returns, so why would He not also make new our beloved pets?” Pastor smiles around the stem of his pipe and nods, “Yes, I believe we can expect Felix to be restored on the new earth. Where you go, so will Felix.”
The Ending
Ultimately, there is an abundance of truth in this story because at the heart is God’s Word. It’s not that the author includes tons of Scripture passages. Not at all. But her theme is truth and beauty and joy in knowing Christ. Loving our neighbors. Loving the Lord. As the back cover says, “Join the blessed saints of Whistle Grove in pondering the wondrous mystery that, whoever believes in Christ, ‘though he die, yet shall he live.’”
I wish I could have given this story to my mother-in-law while she was still with us, before she received her eternal crown. She adored trees, hard-working farm people (she was one) and her Lord. I know many more who will love this book.
As I shared at the beginning of this post, these books both pose similar questions.
Perhaps you will ponder this: How then will you live your life?
What’s all this about Beth’s Book Club? Let me fill you in.
In case you missed it, this year I chose 24 books to highlight for a “reading club,” two per month. One fiction. One nonfiction. Because that’s what I love to do. Then I write a blog post about those two books at the end of the month. I chose a variety of books, and I realize you might have zero interest in reading some. That’s okay. Read what you want, if you want, before or after I post. My blog post are filled with my Beth-review and takeaways. Nothing fancy. No quizzes. Just reading fun!
Playing catch up? Here’s what you might have missed:
