Phosphorescence

A Memoir of Finding Joy When Your World Goes Dark

De: Julia Baird

Narrado por: Julia Baird

“Both timeless and timely, this is a book of wisdom and wonder” (Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March), a deeply personal exploration of what can sustain us through our darkest moments.

“What has fascinated and sustained me over these last few years has been the notion that we have the ability to find, nurture, and carry our own inner, living light—a light to ward off the darkness. This is not about burning brightly; it’s about yielding a more simple phosphorescence—being luminous, having stored light for later use. Staying alive, remaining upright, even when lashed by doubt.”

After surviving a difficult heartbreak and battle with cancer, acclaimed author and columnist Julia Baird began thinking deeply about how we, as people, persevere through the most challenging circumstances. She started to wonder, when we are overwhelmed by illness, loss or pain, or a tragedy outside our control: How can we keep putting one foot in front of the other? Baird went in search of the magic that fuels the light within—our own phosphorescence. In this stunning book, she reflects on the things that lit her way through the darkness, especially the surprising strength found in connecting with nature and not just experiencing awe and wonder about the world around her, but deliberately hunting it, daily.

Baird also writes about crossbeams of resilience: nurturing friendships and a quiet faith, pursuing silence, fighting for what she believes in, the importance of feeling small, learning from her mother's example of stoic grace. She also explores how others nurture their inner light, interviewing the founder of the modern forest therapy movement in Tokyo, a jellyfish scientist in Tasmania, and a tattooed priest from Colorado, among others.

Weaving together candid and moving memoir with deep research and reflections on nature and the world around her, Baird inspires readers to embrace new habits and to adopt a phosphorescent outlook on life, to illuminate ourselves and our days—even in the darkest times.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Julia Baird is an alchemist, turning the dross of her life’s harshest blows into shimmering prose. Ravaged by a broken heart and debilitating cancer, she undertakes a careful examination of what might yet sustain her. Both timeless and timely, this is a book of wisdom and wonder.”—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March and Caleb’s Crossing

“Julia Baird’s glorious and gorgeous memoir glows with wisdom and glitters with merriment. This beautiful book is a light in the darkness.”—Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature

“This book is a love letter to the world by a brilliant writer who nearly left it. Julia Baird has gone into the depths of human experience—her own, and others’—and come back with this luminous and profound celebration of people and the planet. Phosphorescence is a treasure to read and re-read your whole life.”—Anna Funder, author of All That I Am and Stasiland

“I loved this book. A cupped hand full of light in a darkened world. A collection of glittering curios. I’ll hold it close in trying times.”—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment

“Phosphorescence is that rare thing: a book that reminds the reader that change is possible, and that hope is not a luxury but an imperative. Compassionate, expansive, and rigorous, it is a marvel.”—James Bradley, author of The Resurrectionist

“This book is beautiful. It is absolutely my kind of book. A book of tough hope. A light in the dark. A thing of beauty. Phosphorescence itself. [Julia Baird] has been to the tough edges and gives us light. She writes like a dream. Life, nature, hope. You should treat yourself.”—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

“Emotional, introspective . . . It’s impossible to read this book and not sense a shift in one’s thinking about happiness, joy, and a range of other emotions.”—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] poignant combination of self-help, memoir, and scholarly enlightenment . . . Baird brings a shimmering intimacy to a universal condition, a beacon of light that both blazes with intensity and bathes with comforting reassurance.”—Booklist

Not for me

I daily experience the rewards of engaging with nature. And yet not interested in listening to someone detail why experiencing nature is essential to wellbeing. I suppose this didn’t hold my attention because I didn’t believe I had anything to learn from it. But that’s me.

Women, we need this.

Julia writes with a keen eye, a juicy heart and I fell in love with her listening deeply to the easy stream of her words.

beautiful in it's simplicity

I loved this book/audio. Julie shows the simple yet important things in life with such delight.

Not what I was expecting

Based on the book description, I expected a more personal and vulnerable account of her dark times and how she got through it. However most of the book was about research or accounts of others. It was still somewhat interesting and she writes beautifully but I have read enough research based books on similiar themes.

Enchanting

Don’t miss this one. It’s….shiny. Listening to this as I went to bed every night this week, again upon waking, there was no place else I wanted to be, than here, with her.

Starts strong but doesn’t meet the mark

I wanted to like this, but unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea. It started strong, and Baird did attempt to "theme" her memoir, the phenomenon of Phosphorescence, but it did not follow through the book, seeming nodded to more than embedded.

I felt the book told more than it showed, and I wanted a greater depth of feeling and insertion into the author's life than I received here. It seemed more surface level and a bit chaotic in organization.

There were moments of light and brightness, relatability and wisdom, but not enough, on the whole, for me to be able to recommend it to others.

I'd skip this particular one, in favor of Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown, Wintering by Katherine May, or, if you enjoy the more religious vein that Baird dives in and out of, Prayers in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren. Both provide a more grounded, real approach to these topics.

However, I must still applaud Ms. Baird for daring to tell her story-- all of our stories are unique, and telling them and sharing them is a brave act of solidarity. I will leave this book without much but this-- a new intrigue with the beauty of the Bay she loves so much.

the title is nice

It seems a sweet idea and has good intentions. However: long lists of quotes from other books, scientists and popular people makes this more akin to a high school senior project than a book. I did like it at first but honestly can't be bothered finishing.