GO IN JOY! AN ALPHABETICAL ADVENTURE

A collection of short stories, reflective thoughts, and poems examining what it means to live fully and consciously.

The writings in each of the 22 sections in Resor’s debut book correspond to a letter or several—A through Z—with its title and/or theme. For example, the chapter on the letter C contains “Cages To Recognize and Unlock,” which discusses how one constricts one’s feelings, needs, and desires; “Calisthenics for the Contents of our Craniums,” which spotlights ego and empathy; and “Callings From the Deep,” which focuses on knowing oneself well enough to identify and follow one’s purpose. Each essay plays with motifs of inner peace, contentment, originality, imagination, and healing. The mixture of Resor’s own intimate experiences with her poetry and individualized answers to profound questions makes for an engaging read. While the whole work is close to 300 pages, each chapter can be read as a short, stand-alone encounter with Resor’s warm storytelling. Her writing style is playful, provocative, and personable, by turns, and the anecdotes here signal the author’s clear zest for life. It creates a sense of fluidity that’s not often present in self-help works; the overall tone is reminiscent of a casual conversation with a trusted friend. That said, later chapters start to blur together a bit, as the theme doesn’t ever evolve very much past a basic, feel-good message. Resor’s words and ideas are valid and thoughtful, but that isn’t enough to sustain 22 separate installments that all reiterate the same fundamental concepts.

An often poignant, if somewhat overlong, exploration of authenticity and creative expression.