Riles Reads: How We Show Up by Mia Birdsong

If you're wondering how to cultivate community that really shows up for each other, what community can look like outside the bounds of a nuclear family or romantic relationship, and how to connect more deeply and passionately with your people, How We Show Up by Mia Birdsong is the book for you.

We don't need to be confined to the strict definition of "family" that has been handed to us by a white supremacist, patriarchal society obsessed with individualism. Family can come in all shapes and sizes. But without a model of what that might look like, it can feel frightening to create our own structures. This book gives us models we can use to chart our own paths toward more fulfilling connection and community. 

I started using this in my art because community and connection is central to the work I want to create. So not only does this have excellent phrases to rearrange into poems and longer work, but it's a book I want to point people to repeatedly. I want us all to grow our capacities to connect, to be in community with each other, to create the best world we can.

So if that's something you're interested in, I encourage you to read How We Show Up by Mia Birdsong. If you do, I'd love to hear what you think about it! And you can also hang out with us at the Soft Heart Book Club to talk about it!

For more books about cultivating care, community, and connection, check out this book list.