Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief offers thoughtful practices for connection and consideration. Johnson’s twenty+ years as a social justice advocate, anti-racism trainer, social worker, facilitator, and intuitive healer provide nuanced recommendations for mutually understood language, journaling applications, and more. Introducing each chapter with an experience of her own integrates Johnson’s lived experiences with grief and trauma and offers her somatic understanding of where grief hits her body and what happens when it is not expressed. That right there makes this book worth it!

A little "woo-woo", but beautiful. While her spiritual beliefs don't resonate with me, how she expresses herself is quite beautiful.

The meditations can be calming and help reconnect with your Self and grounding, but she's mixing spiritilualism with yogic beliefs, which may not be for everyone. I do wish there were a bit more breathing practices, as most were a bit too mystic for my tastes. Though, you could modify how you approach the given practices to fit your beliefs.

Itsa rather short book. Worth the read, especially in her explanations of how she has seen the affects of dominate culture on herself and her loved ones.

I was able to read an advanced copy from Shambhala Publications, Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is beautifully written and a heartfelt read for anyone struggling with how to make the world better, the weight of oppression, the desire for change, and the determination to do something about it.

One of the things I most appreciated about this book is how she began with a glossary. She wanted everyone reading to be understanding the terms and phrases she was using in the same way. Any preconceived notions one had about a certain word or phrase were irrelevant as she told you where it was.