Lisa notes

Who Do We Need to Go to Mars?
A Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi from Brian McLaren

By LisaNotes June 23, 2025 Book reviews 6 Comments

“But the nun also told her that the dark night of the soul was the tomb for the old you, and it was the womb for the new you. That’s what made Mama happy.”

Why I Read a Sci-Fi Book (and Why You Might Too)

Let me just say: I don’t typically read science fiction novels. But when I saw Brian McLaren was writing this one, I caved. I’ve trusted his voice for years in the non-fiction genre as a spiritual leader and as a wise, decent human being. So I decided to get curious about this fiction series.

The Last Voyage by Brian McLaren

The Last Voyage (Book 1 in a planned trilogy) is a smart and emotional story about humanity’s final chance to get it right somewhere else, after messing up on Earth. It deals with questions like “How do we start over?” and “What kind of people do we need to be to make it work?”

What It’s About

It’s 2056. Earth is falling apart—ecologically, politically, spiritually. A set of billionaire philanthropists have built a spaceship and handpicked a diverse team of thinkers, scientists, and a spiritual guide to establish a long-term colony on Mars. Their mission: build something better, before it’s too late.

But this book isn’t about space wars or aliens. It’s about human nature, values, conflict, and hope. And it’s not just one character’s story—if you poke deep, you’ll see it’s a story about each of us, as a species, trying to improve.

Some of the characters you’ll meet:

  • Colfax, the arrogant ecologist who struggles with alcohol and loneliness
  • Thurman, the billionaire in charge of the Macopro project, and the great-grandson of 20th century civil rights leader Howard Thurman
  • Eve, an American theologian-ethicist grappling with spiritual needs and the relationship with her father, Colfax
  • Refa, a Palestinian poet-musician, the youngest space team member, who brings beauty and pain
  • Gabriela, a Guatemalan geneticist with corny jokes and a desire to heal the planet

But in an interview about the book, McLaren says the real protagonist isn’t any particular character. Rather it’s a set of human traits—love, trust, wisdom, accountability—that bind these people together.

Why I Recommend It

1. It asks the big questions

The story is fiction, but the themes are very real:

  • What do we take with us when we try to start over?
  • How can we prevent systems from causing harm?
  • Is there such a thing as moral purity?
  • How can we prioritize human thriving instead of power and money?

2. It makes beautiful statements

Here are a few quotes by the characters that I highlighted:

  • “It’s worth saving what we can, isn’t it, Colfax? What we love, we see value in, and what we value, we protect and save.”
  • “So much of our brains evolved to keep us alert to danger. Danger is real, of course, but fear . . . fear easily becomes our greatest danger.”
  • “None of us are as rational as we wish we were.”
  • “Maybe faith and hope are overrated. Maybe what you need to do is fall back on love.”
  • “It’s the logos of plants to grow toward the light. I trust, on the days when I can, that we’ll all, eventually, grow toward the light.”

3. It’s timely—and timeless

It deals with climate change, authoritarianism, white nationalism, political collapse—but also with grief, community, meaning, and inner transformation. It reminded me that the most important revolutions have to start inside and work their way outward.

4. It feels personal

Because I’ve read many of McLaren’s books through the years—and have heard him speak on numerous occasions the past three or four years—I smiled when I caught glimpses of McLaren’s personality in the text: his love of birds and nature and their demise due to climate change; his extensive knowledge of philosophy, politics, and religion; and even his named car in the book, the McLaren (which “makes Thurman’s Tesla look pedestrian”).

Final Thoughts

The only thing I didn’t like was that the book ends with a cliffhanger. Some people love an uncertain ending. I understand that with nonfiction. But I prefer my novels to give me closure. However, the open ending does make me look forward to Book Two.

With The Last Voyage, Brian McLaren didn’t just write a sci-fi novel. He wrote a moral invitation. If like me, you’re a bit overwhelmed by the current problems on Earth, this book won’t give you easy answers. But it does offer some excellent questions.

And it might just remind you that we are not as powerless as we might think. That we can grow toward the light. That love, even in the face of doom, is worth choosing. [See McLaren’s 2024 nonfiction book, Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart; I highly recommend it!]

I don’t think I’m a good candidate for Mars. I lack an adventurous spirit and my remaining years are too numbered. But I did enjoy thinking about it. Even if you’re not a sci-fi reader either, I recommend you give The Last Voyage a try. It’s thoughtful, emotional, and calls on the best parts of what makes us human.

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The Last Voyage will be published July 29; you can pre-order it now. Read more in this short interview with Brian McLaren.

Would you be willing to start over on Mars? Share your thoughts in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley for the
review copy of The Last Voyage

Who Do You Trust With Your To-Read List?
Why I’m Following This Book List (and Maybe You Should Too)

By LisaNotes June 19, 2025 Books I Recommend, Reading 36 Comments

“A good book is an event in my life.”
― Stendhal

To Read or Not to Read

Let’s say you just got a book recommendation. How do you decide whether or not to take it?

Sometimes you question the book. Here are a few questions I ask myself.

  • Does this topic interest me?
  • How many pages is it?
  • Do I have time and the mental bandwidth for it right now?
  • Could it help me with something?
  • Would it be entertaining?
  • Does my library have it? 

Other times, you question the recommender.

  • Are they a reader themselves?
  • Do we have the same taste?
  • Can I trust their values or expertise on this subject?
  • How well do they know me?
  • Have they recommended books in the past that I’ve liked?

So last week I saw a list recommending 21 books. That’s too many. I almost didn’t even look at it.

Until I saw who it was from: Daniel Pink.

And why he recommended these books: they changed his life.

Daniel Pink - 21 Personal Development Books Summarized in 18 Minutes

Daniel Pink is one of my trusted guides. Through the years, I’ve read many books at his suggestion, and never regretted any of them. He is also an author himself of seven New York Times best sellers (I’ve read five and I highly recommend them).

So I made a decision: look at his list and watch his video.

A Little Headstart

Of the 21 books in this list that changed his life, I’d already read 9 of them. I wonder if some were because of his recommendation?

This gives me a lot of confidence in the remaining 12 books, which I now plan to read over the next 12 months, aiming for 1 book per month, along with other books I’ll also be reading.

His list of books is good enough for me to pass along to you, too—especially my fellow book lovers— for your own journey of learning, growing, and maybe even reshaping the way we see the world.

Some of the books are recent. Some are decades old, but they’ve aged well. Reading them now—wherever you are—will still feel relevant.

I created my own pdf to check off the 21 books (well, I politely asked AI to set it up for me, and it did, of course, then I tweaked it). You can download the pdf at the bottom of this post if you’d like your own checklist, too.

Daniel Pink - 21 Recommended Books

Why You Should Watch the Video (Even If You Don’t Read the Books)

However, maybe you’re not a big reader. The list has zero appeal to you.

Nonetheless, I encourage you to watch his video anyway. Put it on double speed if you don’t have 18 minutes.

Why? Because Pink doesn’t just name-drop titles here. He explains why each book matters, how it shifted his thinking, and what kind of ripple effect it had on his life and work.

So even if you never pick up a single book from the list, you’ll pick up insights and aha moments just from the video itself.

The List

Here are 9 books from the list I’ve already read, so I can join Pink in highly recommending each of these myself.

1. Grit by Angela Duckworth, 2016. Read 2017.
3. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1990. Read ???.
4. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, 2002. Read 2014.
5. The Stoic Challenge by William Irvine, 2019. Read 2020.
14. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, 2012. Read 2017.
17. Scarcity by by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir, 2013. Read 2021.
18. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont, 1994. Read 2008.
20. Moneyball by Michael Lewis, 2003. Read 2007.
21. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, 1946. Read 2006.

The Righteous Mind

And here are the 12 books I plan to read over the next year. Some are on my to-read list already. I’m starting this month with The Sports Gene since my library has it available both as an ebook and hardcopy.

2. Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke, 2018.
6. The Sports Gene by David Epstein, 2013.
7. Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt, 2019.
8. Give and Take by Adam Grant, 2013.
9. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker, 2018.
10. Unfair by Adam Benforado, 2015.
11. Influence by Robert Cialdini, 2013.
12. Rule Makers, Rule Breakers by Michele Gelfand, 2018.
13. The Genetic Lottery by Kathryn Paige Harden, 2021.
15. Uncivil Agreement by Lilliana Mason, 2018.
16. Mindset by Carol Dweck, 2006, 2016.
19. Nonzero by Robert Wright, 1999.

The Sports Gene

I’ll share reflections along the way—maybe a quote, a new thought, or if anything creates a mindset shift in me—because that’s what these kind of books do. They nudge us to become more aware of ourselves and our world, and then hopefully make the world just a little better.

Daniel Pink ends his video by saying,

“When we read books like these we change our minds, and when we change our minds we change the world.”

I couldn’t agree more.

How do you decide about book recommendations? Have you read any on Pink’s list? Which would you most like to read? If you read one, let me know and we’ll talk about it together.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Want the full list of all 21 books? I created a printable for you here, “21 Books Recommended by Daniel Pink.”

21 Books Recommended by Daniel Pink

I Don’t Want to Remember. But I Can’t Forget.

By LisaNotes June 16, 2025 Encouragement 30 Comments

The Sting

Every morning I walk around the house and open my blinds. I love light. I love seeing the trees and the birds and the lake outside my windows.

And every evening, I reverse the ritual—walking from room to room, closing the same blinds.

But on this night, as I reach in to close the blinds in the dining room:

OUCH!!!

I immediately jerk my hand back, surprised and hurting. A spider? A sharp object? What just happened?

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I look at the bright red spot on my now on-fire hand. Then I gingerly pull back the curtain to look at the blinds.

That’s when I see it.

It’s a wasp. It’s still sitting on the inside edge of the curtain, exactly where my hand had been just seconds before.

The sting hurts for awhile (but not bad enough to prevent me from killing the wasp with a wad of paper towels). Eventually I get over it.

But I don’t forget about it.

The Memory Returns

Even now, months later, when I reach in to close the blinds at night, I remember the wasp. I check the curtain’s edge. I’m aware that if a wasp was there once, it might be there again.

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It hasn’t returned.

But the memory has. The memory of the sting returns again and again.

Some things only take once.

When Words Leave a Mark

A wasp’s sting fades. But a stinging word? Sometimes those memories leave an even more lasting mark.

If someone said something to you that pierced straight through your heart, you may resolve it, forgive it, and move on.

But still—you may remember.

The tone. The timing. The unexpected pain. The way it made you question yourself, the other person, or the relationship.

And like reaching toward that curtain again, you may hesitate before opening up the next time.

Words That Sting — and Linger

Ask yourself:

  • When’s the last time someone’s words truly stung you?
  • What was said?
  • Why do you still remember it?

If someone’s words left you hurting, remember: pain is information, not weakness. You’re allowed to remember—and you don’t have to pretend it didn’t hurt.

But you can begin to separate the memory from the fear. You can learn to reach for the blinds again.

Now also ask:

  • When’s the last time you said something in frustration to someone else?
  • Did it land on them like a sting?
  • Were you aware that you did it?

It happens to all of us. Whether we’re speaking to friends, kids, coworkers, strangers online, or even to ourselves . . .

Words matter.

They can wound. Or they can heal. They can shut someone down. Or open someone up.

We aren’t always mindful when we speak. But we can repair. And perhaps create a new memory in the same space.

Reopen the Blinds

The blinds still need opening every morning. The light still needs to come in. May we not let memories of old stings keep us from what brings us joy. I want the blinds open so I can enjoy looking out my window, even as I’m mindful of where I reach.

May we be generous in giving words of kindness so we don’t leave bad memories with others. Speak words of healing and not harming, words that bring light and not darkness.

Because even a single sting can leave a lasting memory.

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When’s the last time you’ve been stung by an insect? By a word? Which hurt worse?

Share in the comments.

revised from the archives

Do You Have to Earn Your Joy? Guilt in a Box

By LisaNotes June 12, 2025 My stories, Ripple: One Word 2025 36 Comments

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guilt in a Box

It’s night at the beach condo we’ve rented for the week. We’ve already washed off the sand, gone out to dinner, and locked the doors for the evening.

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Now I sit at the kitchen table and look at the box in front of me.

A small war is waging inside me.

  • Shouldn’t I be rinsing out swimsuits or sweeping sand off the floor?
  • Shouldn’t I prep snacks for tomorrow before I allow myself more play?
  • Shouldn’t everything we do on vacation be together?

But instead, I open the puzzle box. Instead of finding one bag of pieces, I find two ziplock bags.

Now I’m curious.

The Overtime Work Ethic

I have two guilt tracks that play often in my head.

1. No play until your work is done

I grew up with the ethic of work first, play last.

The problem is that you never finish all the work. There is always more work. So when do you get to play? When can you indulge yourself in something as frivolous as working a jigsaw puzzle?

2. Fun is meant to be together

I love spending time with my husband Jeff. When we’re on vacation, we do almost everything together, by choice.

But he hates doing puzzles. Would working the puzzle alone be selfish of me?

Whose Vacation Is It?

I’d been eyeing the box for a few days, ever since we’d seen the stack of games with this puzzle in the condo closet.

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The first night here we’d borrowed Scrabble: National Parks Edition (good timing since we went to three National Parks in California in April!).

The second night we played Bananagrams that I’d brought from home.

But this third night, no box is as tempting as this puzzle. I finally bring it up.

Jeff laughs. “Of course you should do the puzzle! It’s your vacation, too.” (Reader, when you find a friend like this, treasure them.)

So here I sit. With two bags from the box. One is more full than the other. I open the smaller bag first.

To my delight, it contains all the edge pieces of the puzzle. The most tedious step of doing a puzzle for me is picking out the edge pieces to create the border—the “work before play” part. And here this work has already been done for me. I can go straight to play.

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Then it hits me: I know someone who does this. Someone who, when they finish a puzzle, puts the pieces back into two bags, one for just the edge pieces.

A Ripple Reaches Me

I click a picture of the puzzle with my phone. I text it to my father-in-law two states away.

He responds back immediately, confirming that indeed, it was he and my mother-in-law who did this, months ago, at their most recent stay here in this same condo. They had worked the puzzle first, then afterwards packaged it back up into two bags, hoping to help the next person who opened it.

The next person was me.

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My in-laws had no idea who would discover this unexpected ripple of joy. Yet months later, I was the one it reached, landing directly in my lap, literally.

The ripple was a beautiful reminder to me that:

  • Fun doesn’t have to be earned
  • Your to-do list can be put aside (especially on vacation, good grief!) to make room for play
  • Be grateful for joy that ripples to you without you chasing it down or even expecting it

A few days later, I finish the puzzle. But this time, instead of crumbling all the pieces into a heap and throwing them into the bag, I do it differently.

I peel apart the edge pieces first. I seal them carefully in their own bag. I put both bags back into the box.

May the ripple flow on.

Have you ever felt you had to earn your fun? What small ripples of joy have you received lately? Share in the comments.

Ripple - Read more here

More RIPPLES Here:

What Your Most Unlikely Friendship Can Teach You

By LisaNotes June 9, 2025 Community, Compassion, My stories, Relationships 33 Comments

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
— Arthur Ashe

Remember the Connections

I’ve missing my quirky friend Violet. Last month marked one year since she died. A couple Fridays ago would have been her 57th birthday.

Violet wasn’t always an easy friend. But she was an unforgettable one.

She lived with more than her fair share of challenges. Upon meeting her years ago (maybe 2004?), I immediately saw she had learning disabilities, a speech impediment, and a childlike naïveté about life.

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2012 at Manna House

But she also had joy. None of her hardships stopped her from connecting with anyone, anywhere. If she met you today, in the first five minutes, you would find yourself telling her:

  • Your birthday
  • How old you are
  • Your favorite music

And the next time she saw you? She’d remember those. (Not me—I struggle to just recall names.)

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2016 at Kings’ Banquet

Violet loved birthdays and music. Especially Elvis Presley, whose birthday—she’d tell you—was January 8. I think she loved him because her mama loved him. And Violet loved her mama. She also loved Hall & Oates. Charley Pride. Any 70s and 80s pop band.

If an oldie came on the radio when we were together in the car, I could trust Violet to accurately tell me who was singing it. Sometimes I’d think,

There’s no way she can know that.

And I’d google the song. But sure enough, she was always right.

Violet also loved her brother, cheering for Auburn football (War Eagle, Violet! but no, we probably won’t beat Alabama this year), playing Candy Crush on her tablet, listening to Pandora on her phone, and eating Moose Tracks ice cream in her apartment.

What Friends Give You

Being around Violet often restored my faith in humanity. Why? Not only did she place an innocent trust in most people, I also saw most people respond to her with patience and gentleness.

I’ll never forget the kind bank clerk who helped us set up a new account. Violet wanted the clerk to understand—over and over—how many years that she and I had been friends. Violet would turn to me and ask,

“How long have we known each other? 12 years?”

And each time, I would reply,

“Actually it’s been about 20 years!”

Violet would repeat that to the clerk. Over and over and over. The exact conversation, sometimes just a minute apart.

Yet each time, the clerk showed appropriate amazement, as if she were hearing it for the first time.

That moment, among many others, reminded me that people can be quite generous when given the opportunity.

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2024 at the eye doctor – she enjoyed talking to everyone but hated the exams

When Friendship Isn’t Easy

Not everything was smooth though. Sometimes we got on each other’s nerves. Like those days when she would call me 30, 40, maybe 50 times in a day. Mainly just to say that:

  • Someone we knew had died (maybe last week or maybe 3 years ago)
  • Or to tell me a storm was coming tomorrow
  • Or to ask if I could get her some Reese’s Pieces the next time I was at the store

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Because of Violet, I learned how to do things that I’d never done before. Like navigate food stamps. Track down missing Social Security checks. Fill out a Medicaid application.

And in Violet’s final months, I had to learn how to guide around a blind friend who couldn’t grasp what was happening (which is how I often felt myself).

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2024, “Cheers!” on move-in day at her new home after she lost her sight

I did none of those things exactly right. I fumbled many times. And often had to call for help myself.

I felt overwhelmed by Violet’s conditions. And very sad. Yet also frustrated. I couldn’t convince her to try healthier foods or wash her socks or stretch the carton of ice cream over multiple nights instead of eating it all at one time.

But worse, I couldn’t keep Violet from dying.

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2024, final photo I have of Violet, one week before she died, with our sweet friend Kay

Things You Can’t Fix

I innocently hoped that a single simple eye procedure would restore Violet’s vision. And with it, bring a brand new sparkling life for her—finally living where she could be taken care of, being served three good meals every day, and discovering a hallway full of new birthdays.

But after the first, then the second, and even the third surgery all failed to restore her vision—not even in the smallest way—she faded fast.

The good life I’d wanted for her future years here wasn’t possible after all. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Instead of getting to see Violet’s life change, it was my life that was changing.

  • I became more aware of my ignorance of how people live with disabilities.
  • I recognized how much privilege I had been born with.
  • I learned that compassion means little if it stays in the heart—it must move through the body, stepping into spaces where love becomes action.

To quote the writer/artist Mary Anne Radmacher, I also learned that:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’“

So thank you, Violet.

For loving me and letting me love you. For building more courage in me than I knew I had. For the days you gave me to try again tomorrow.

You taught me that love doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.

Many people loved Violet powerfully. Many people continue to miss her today.

I am one of them.

Who in your life has taught you things you didn’t know you needed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more friendship adventures here:

Find Your Edge: Rethink Your Spirituality

By LisaNotes June 6, 2025 Book reviews 6 Comments

“Let us never affirm that thought itself is dangerous.”
— Joran Slane Oppelt, Spiritual Edge

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What Is Spiritual Edge?

Spiritual Edge: Exploring the Boundaries and Evolution of Religion is not your typical theology book. It is a collection of essays, prayers, lectures, and reflections by Joran Slane Oppelt, a longtime interfaith leader. Oppelt compiled his writings and speeches into this book as an invitation to a new (and older) generation to continue thinking about their spirituality instead of assuming it’s all been figured out already.

Some of the concepts in the book didn’t resonate with me. But others made me pause on the page, set the book down, and think about them a bit.

Whether you’re seeking new spiritual practices, reconsidering your faith, or simply wondering how to make sense of spirituality in your current place and time, this book meets you at the edge—where growth can flourish.

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~ * ~

Key Themes That Stuck With Me

  • Identity and Belonging

A “spiritual edge” may be thought of in more than one way. It’s where labels become too small and a deeper self begins to emerge.

“The first way we might think of Spiritual Edge might be the edges between those names that we have put on ourselves or have had put on us by others.

“The second way is by imagining ourselves standing on a precipice — our toes dangling over a cliff and not knowing what comes next.

“The third idea is that the word “edge,” in English, can sometimes mean advantage.”

  • Tools Over Dogma

Oppelt argues for a wide approach to spiritual practice—one that uses the full toolbox, not just one inherited framework.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want just one tool. I don’t want just one solution. I want all of these solutions to be accessible and to apply them through spiritual practice.”

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  • Interspirituality and Innovation

Oppelt suggests in the book that spirituality must evolve alongside humanity. He challenges his readers/listeners to rethink worship, language, and community—making space for both reverence and reimagination.

“We need a new interspiritual order . . . that exists outside of the current (or failing) institutions and that encourages us to, in the words of philosopher Ken Wilber, ‘show up, wake up, and grow up.’ One that instructs us to lift one another as we climb.”

  • Navigating Uncertainty

One of the book’s most comforting themes is its refusal to condemn doubt. Oppelt says that standing on an uncertain edge is part of the journey. Embrace it.

“When you are questioning your own abilities, your own edge, your own advantage, your own privilege, your ability to create more goodness, beauty, and truth in the world . . . I want you to remember two things: There is something more. And you are not alone.”

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~ * ~

Why This Book Matters

I didn’t agree with every chapter—and I think Oppelt might be fine with that. This isn’t a blueprint; it’s a conversation starter. The questions it leaves you with are more powerful than the answers.

Oppelt’s writing is a mix of the poetic and the practical. I appreciate the openness to agree, disagree, or to simply not know yet. That’s the type of spiritual guidance that sounds most honest to me.

It’s okay to stand at the edge. You might just belong there.

~ * ~

Quotes That Stand Out to Me

“We must have compassion for both the elder and the naive young person whose heart and expression is still changing, still maturing. Indeed, we must be both of them.”

“There’s a difference between doing and showing up with presence and warmth. Yet, the path is deepened by practice. It is made richer by our showing up with repetition and commitment.”

“Knowing that the question is always part of the answer is wisdom.”

“Let us never affirm that thought itself is dangerous. We must exercise our intellect as part of our spiritual practice.”

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Share your thoughts here.

My thanks to Speakeasy for the
review copy of Spiritual Edge