Wasatch County Library

Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives -- experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. Now Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. Brown argues that we're experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe...

"We live in one of the most connected times on earth but never before have we been so lonely, so alienated from each other, from ourselves, and from the natural world. Whether this manifests as having difficulty finding community, feeling anxiety about your worthiness and place in the world, or simply feeling disconnected, the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times. Most of us think of belonging as a place outside of ourselves,...

As four very different letters arrive at the playground, each makes the next feel unwelcome, but once they begin to swing together, they have a wonderful time.

"This is a book about belonging. It tackles what it's like when you feel like you belong to a group or family or team and what it's like when you don't. It addresses what it feels like when you don't fit in, or when others don't want you around. This book teaches kids how to belong to themselves and how that helps them belong anywhere."--Publisher's description.

Brody Fair feels like nobody gets him: not his overworked parents, not his genius older brother, and definitely not the girls in the projects set on making his life miserable. Then he meets Nico, an art student who takes Brody to Everland, a "knock-off Narnia" that opens its door at 11:21pm each Thursday for Nico and his band of present-day misfits and miscreants.

"A nurturing voice reassures the lonely and afraid in difficult times"--

Bernardo the frog loves the birdsong that carries the woods into each new day. But it's the very beauty of birdsong that also highlights for him his own croaking voice, and this makes him sad. How does he fit in? How can he contribute to his woodland home? Does he belong?--

Ming, the daughter of Chinese immigrants in 1930s California, wants to be like other children at school and celebrate Christmas with a tree, but after her father takes her to see a wise old friend, she discovers a better way to honor her heritage.

"Sometimes life isn't a piece of cake... When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he's landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn't speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao. To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly...

After revealing her hybrid nature to Septimus beyond her pack, Manu hopes that superstition and suspicion do not prevent her and her friends from finding allies in their fight for a better future.