Welcome, Friends . . .

… to the Belonging Book Club, a space for book lovers to read together about land, kinship, and the search for belonging.

I’m Helen. I farm on a windy hillside in Vermont, and in the frozen months of the year I mostly feed the fires, write, help others to write, and READ. Reading has always been an important source of joy and learning for me. This year, with the publication of my book, The Salt Stones, I’ve been invited to a lot of book clubs, libraries and podcasts, and I often get asked what I like to read, and how my reading informs my writing. The answer is: my reading is eclectic! And yet, I realize that nearly every book I am drawn to adds texture to my writing and my thinking about our human struggle to live on this beautiful, changing, intricate planet.

So, I felt inspired to create a virtual campfire of sorts, where we can gather around to read and share books that prompt musings about land, community, longing and belonging. I hope you will join me. If you are part of a non-virtual book club, you can join as a group too, and use my prompts to discuss in person with your friends.

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How the book club works

Each month, I will select a book and offer a short review / personal essay with my thoughts and associations, as well as some prompts for you to take your reading deeper and/or to share with your book club. These will also be recorded, so you can listen rather than read, if you prefer. You can share your own thoughts in the comments section and we’ll see what happens as we build our reading community on this platform.

Do I need to subscribe?

In order to read all my book posts in the Belonging Book Club and to be able to comment, you will need to hit that subscribe button, yes. You can try it out for a month for $5, or for a full year for $50. Groups of four or more signing up together get a 20% discount. And as always, if you’re not in a place to pay at the moment, but know this would be a lovely addition to your life, be in touch and I’ll add you. My Salt Stones Substack , with occasional posts about my life and the farm, will remain 100% free.

That’s it! Hoping to keep it all simple, without too many bells and whistles and no additional platforms to link to, because that’s what I prefer. But I look forward to hearing about what works for you as this unfolds.

I appreciate you all!