BOOKED FOR A STAYCATION

A recent commercial highlighted the coined word, ‘staycation.’ The concept of ‘staycation’ refers to a leisure break time spent locally, usually at home or nearby. As an avid reader I am advocating those unable to get away for a summer vacation this year, for whatever reason, to avail themselves of frequent relaxing breaks centred on leisure reading. As author Jhumpa Lahiri beautifully put it:

“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”

May I take the liberty to recommend the Electra McDonnell book series by author Ashley Weaver. Her series offers the reader a historical mystery collection set during World War II. As of July 2025, the series comprises five books:  

A Peculiar Combination (2021),

The Key to Deceit (2022),

Playing It Safe (2023),

Locked in Pursuit (2024),

and One Final Turn (2025).

The cleverly chosen titles subtly hint at Ellie’s life transition, as a former safecracker-turned-spy, as she navigates her complex new world of espionage. The books’ chapters combine elements of suspense, romance, and historical detail.

If you find yourself liking Ashley Weaver’s storytelling style and looking for more books by her, you might also enjoy the author’s other historical whodunit series, the Amory Ames Mystery Series. The protagonist in the series of seven is Amory Ames, a stylist, self- possessed, young woman living in 1930s England. Amory is an independently wealthy amateur sleuth who frequently finds herself entangled in murder investigation.

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”
— Mason Cooley

I hope my blog is a reminder that a well-told story can transport you far beyond your front door. Happy reading and safe travels, wherever your pages may lead you.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ 

Image: Victor Ballesteros/Kari Shea | Unsplash

Moral Ambition: A Book Review

Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman (2025)

I was surprised—and grateful—when the public library notified me that Moral Ambition was ready for pickup. I had no memory of placing it on hold, but I’m very glad I did. Rutger Bregman’s book is compelling, thought-provoking, and one I highly recommend.

Drawing inspiration from the quote, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall” (Allen Raine, 1836–1908), Bregman explores what it means to use one’s talent in service of the greater good.

This isn’t just a book about inspiring individuals—it’s a call to action. Bregman introduces readers to people who are directing their considerable skills and energy toward solving the world’s toughest challenges. Along the way, he challenges us to do the same. Chapter titles alone give a taste of the book’s tone and urgency:

  • No, You’re Not Fine Just the Way You Are

  • Lower Your Threshold for Taking Action

  • See Winning as Your Moral Duty

  • Find Out What the World Needs and Make It Happen

  • Expand Your Moral Circle

  • Make Future Historians Proud

Bregman doesn’t merely celebrate moral ambition—he insists it’s within reach for each of us. As he writes, “If you choose to go the moral ambition route, the ripple effect can be enormous. Your behaviour is contagious, so a better world does indeed begin with you. Moral ambition isn’t a trait; it’s a mindset.”

This book will challenge your assumptions, spark ideas, and leave you rethinking how you spend your time and talent. It’s an invitation to live more boldly—and more purposefully.

-Sister Nancy Sullivan, CSJ

Image: Martin Adams/Unsplash; Book: https://rutgerbregman.com/books/moral-ambition

National Wildlife Day

“Some Wilderness Ramblings”
A Celebration of National Wildlife Day

As I write these few words I’m grateful to be spending some restful days in a wild place of lakes and deep forests. It is a place where the trees, fungi, plants, wildflowers and waters form a community with the animals whose home this is. All around the songbirds sing their morning praise. In the evenings, the loons cry out their haunting melodies calling out creation’s mystery. The tap, tap-tapping of woodpeckers echoes throughout the day as they create nature’s sculptures in the ancient log on the deck. The sound of tiny footsteps declare the arrival of squirrels and chipmunks seeking nourishment. Glorious, luminous dragonflies and butterflies fill the air with gentle patterns in flight. Fish, large and small dart across the water’s edge and leap from the depths of the lake toward the sunlight, shimmering in its radiance. Ants scurry busily, with great intent, like a miniature army. Sometimes, a small garter snake lazily slithers through the brush and very occasionally, I am reliably told, a black bear is sighted on its visits in the area.

This place is the place of belonging for such a vast and magnificent diversity of creatures. All are here “at home” by some “divine right” – they belong by nature. We humans, albeit an intrinsic part of the whole of creation, are in some senses, invitees of all other creatures. As, Wendell Berry, poet, writer, environmental activist and cultural critic writes, I can truly belong to this place “only by understanding and by virtue”. We humans are called into an intimacy with the natural world and we belong only in so far as we open ourselves to growing awareness and by living responsibly for the preservation of the wild that gifts us with life and beauty.  

In Canada, National Wildlife Day is celebrated on September 4. On this day we are reminded of the magnificent diversity of life in creation upon which all life depends. The specially designated day honours the legacy of Steve Irwin the conservationist and television personality known popularly as "The Crocodile Hunter".  The day serves to encourage, and for more than a day, the need to expand and deepen our awareness of the array of species around us, no matter whether we live in countryside or city, and of the vast multitude of animal communities, globally.  The day, assigned, calls us to protect endangered species. Current research demonstrates that thousands of species are at risk of extinction caused by unthinking, rapacious human intervention and concurrent environmental change and habitat loss. National Wildlife Day reminds us of the essential role played by plants and animals in maintaining ecological balance necessary for the very existence of life itself. The Day stresses the importance of wildlife conservation. It calls for individual and communal efforts to preserve and allow the flourishing of biological diversity and the beauty of the wilderness now and for future generations.

What am I called to be and to do in response? Perhaps it’s a simple yet vital first step of expanding consciousness by immersing ourselves in the world’s magnificence, simply taking a walk in nature and allowing it to touch and teach us. As wildlife biologist, Erik Reisen writes maybe it is first a matter of, “Paying attention to the things most of us ignore or simply don’t take time to notice in our daily comings and goings – to see the natural world through a magnifying glass or in a poem, is the first step toward wanting to preserve it.” On National Wildlife Day let us simply pay attention, give thanks and commit to action!

-Sister Mary Rowell, csj

Image: Vincent van Zalinge/Unsplash

Love Lives On

These days, as my number of years increases, I find myself gaining new perspectives and insights. I suppose that experience is not unique to me, but rather one of the significant gifts that come with aging. A great deal of earlier life seems to be spent figuring out whether to go “gee” (right) or “haw” (left), to borrow from equine terms. With the passing of years, however, we begin to strive more intentionally to proceed straight forward carefully, thoughtfully, as best we can.

One new thought surfaced as the first anniversary of my good friend, Jean’s death approached. A new notion came to mind as I recalled the phrase, “Life is changed, but not ended.” In the past, I had always associated its meaning with the future life of the deceased, an encouragement to focus on their continued existence in the often-referenced ‘hereafter.’ But this time, with new insight, I found the subject of the phrase had become me.

While my longtime friend’s earthly life has come to its close and continues now in unimaginable ways beyond this world, I realized that my life, especially regarding our shared relationship, has also undergone a change, but continues.

“The friends we have lost do not repose under the ground... they are buried deep in our hearts. It has been thus ordained that they may always accompany us.”
— Alexandre Dumas, in The Count of Monte Cristo

Jean’s physical presence may be gone, but our connection, the shared memories, and the influence she has on my life are still very much alive. And so, my life too is changed yet continues to be so richly blessed.

-Sister Nancy Wales, csj

Images: le Sixième Rêve/Sixteen Miles Out | Unsplash