Not self-help, really. Not actually about the titular "you" so much as the author's "I." It's an autobiography organized around some Buddhist principles. It's about the author's ambivalent desire to connect with and accept humanity while yet judging and categorizing them. And her resentment of White American Western thinking and culture and her defense of "woo woo." If readers already embrace the latter, they will probably enjoy this book (it helps to be amused by the occasionally sophomoric humor too), but Red State Americans will probably not feel like the call for connection extends to them. And considering the author's life experiences, it's understandable why she feels the way she does. But ultimately, promoting skepticism of mainstream science and medicine is criminally irresponsible at the present moment, whether it comes from far right conspiracy theorists or far left spiritualists.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

We Are More than What We Produce
In the spirit of accomplishing more each day--more work, more chores, more errands, more self-care--I've read countless books on time management. The one that changed my relationship with work more than any other, though, was not about doing more, but about doing less. In Do Nothing (Harmony, $25), Celeste Headlee invites readers to reconsider the role of rest in work, all while placing our modern understanding of work in its historical context. We must rest, she argues, or we burn out.

This concept of burnout is the crux of Anne Helen Peterson's Can't Even (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26), which expands on her viral Buzzfeed article. In Worked Over (Basic Books, $28), sociologist Jamie McCallum draws important connections between this culture of burnout and constant work with persistent inequalities in American society. When I picked up Wintering (Riverhead, $24) last month, I encountered yet again these themes of work and rest and burnout, woven into Katherine May's story of her own forced rest and what it taught her about the nature of her work.

These books about the culture of work (and rest) have me thinking in news ways about how I relate to my own daily work in the nonprofit sector, how I show up and how in turn I encourage others to show up. To that end, my first planned book for the new year is You Belong (HarperOne, $27.99), in which meditation expert Sebene Selassie explores how our sense of belonging and connection shapes the world we live in. Before I start that work, however, I will take time to rest on these shortest days of the year and embrace that I am--and we all are--more than what we can produce in a given day. As we stare down the uncertainty of a new year in this strange time, I invite you to do the same. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

Selassie's story and message are inspiring, inclusive, and exactly what we need to hear right now.
The book speaks about the connectivity and belonging we all crave, and how we are more alike than we often realize.
Many thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This book is a wonderful resource and beautiful read. I enjoyed it as a yoga teacher and lover of non-fiction. This book is full of wisdom we could all use right now.

YOU BELONG by Sebene Selassie so resonated this peculiar summer of 2020. That said, it is the timeless, thought-provoking read that stops you in your tracks to breathe, to reconsider what you're doing and why -- and with whom. Selassie adeptly explores tough topics such as fitting in and loneliness, immigration and racism, trust and ambition. I felt like I'd had an in-depth conversation with a new friend.

Happy book birthday to You Belong by @sebeneselassie! I’m learning so much about meditation, embodied awareness and how to listen to the body! I first encountered Sebene Selassie through Dan Harris’s Ten Percent Happier podcast. I love her down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is style and sense of humor. Selassie has a great way of using her deeply personal stories to create lessons we can all use. Though I would say that the target audience is people with some experience meditating, I don’t think that a novice would have any difficulty understanding the concepts explored in this book. Overall, I highly recommend it! Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC!

You Belong by Sebene Selassie is a non-fiction book written to enable the reader to experience belonging both externally and internally. I first heard the author on a podcast and found her belief that we are not separate from others very interesting, especially in a country so rooted in individualism. The author's experience twined throughout the book was captivating and furthered my knowledge and empathy of the immigrant experience. As a researcher, her explanation of how we are not separate on an atomic level was unique and insightful. We have all experienced being in nature and feeling connected to it and I think the author highlighted this beautifully. This is not a book that provides exercises or tricks on how to belong, this a richly immersive book that requires the author to reflect on each chapter, or even section to truly appreciate it. This will be a book I return to regularly as I can find myself disconnected at times. I believe many readers would find wisdom from this book, particularly in a time where we are disconnected physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Many thanks to the publisher HarperOne and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Sebene Selassie shines a definite light in a dark time. For anyone who has felt alone during quarantine this book may help with understanding why we all want to connect in this world.

Wow! Sebena Selassie’s “You Belong” is a book that can unleash a spiritual revolution in your soul. Her profound wisdom, stories, bent toward justice, grasp of the human experience, and superb overview of the topic of belonging, is simply life-changing! She is absolutely brilliant! I highly recommend this book!