The Gift of a New Book

In his smart little book, The Practice, Seth Godin says creative people have two tasks before them: to create and to ship. Most creative people I know don't need to be prodded to do the creating part. But the shipping part, well, that's different.

A friend said to me recently that he wondered where I got the time to do the things I do--the podcast, the music, the writing. Others have said something similar. But there is no mystery to these things I take on, because I feel absolutely driven to do them. There's no writer's block, no procrastination, no prevarication. In fact, for me, it's the opposite. Whatever the project, I can't wait to get started. Where will the Muse take me this time?

So, writing my new book, Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul, came naturally, if it didn't always come easily. I mean, you still have to sit there at the computer hour after hour, tapping out sentence after sentence; you have to return again and again to write and re-write; and then you have to leave it alone for a few months, and return once again, to see how it sounds when your ears are fresh. But I love it. I love all of it. I'd be sad, when a project comes to an end, except that, usually, I've already moved on to the next one.

But shipping! That's another story. Like they say about the music business, you have to remember that "business" is the larger word of the two, demanding a similarly disproportionate amount of attention. Shipping is important if you want your creative work to be anything other than a hobby. It's the way you offer your gift to the world, regardless of how the world receives it. But, whether you're giving it away or selling it, placing your gift where others can find it can be an even greater challenge than creating the thing in the first place.

I'm not someone who comes to promotion and marketing willingly. It intimidates me, I resent it, and, when I make myself do it, it exhausts me. All that posturing! All that calculated swagger! But without the shipping part, my creative output is stillborn. No one sees it, or even knows it's there. So, in a gift economy (borrowing from Lewis Hyde's brilliant book, The Gift), believing that my words have been given to me in order to be shared with others, I am obliged to find ways to share them. And that's precisely what I'm doing here.

The book is a collection of personal essays chronicling my exploration of the spiritual terrain on the far side of conventional religion. It begins in the church, where I was an Anglican priest for almost forty years, and it follows me out the other side, where I meet my spirit guides, commune with the dead, and, yes, talk to trees. Somewhere along the way, it uncovers an emerging spirituality for our times that is both new and ancient.

But, you say, how can you get your hands on this fascinating book and read it for yourself? I'm glad you asked. It makes my job easier. It's now a real book, in paperback and in hard cover, available online and at select bookstores. It's also an e-book you can read on your phone or tablet. Soon, it will be available as an audio book you can listen to. I hope that covers the bases.

But then there's this. Amazon and the other online retailers will sell you the book and pay me about $1.20 for the privilege, which doesn't seem like very much, given what they will charge. So, as an alternative, and to make the transaction more personal, I'll sell you the book myself, either personally, for $25, or from my website, for $35. I'll sign it and ship it anywhere in North America--for FREE (though you're smart enough to realize the shipping is included in the price). Here's the link: https://www.brianepearson.ca/talking-to-trees

To sweeten the deal, if you buy the book from me before September 30th, 2025, I'll enter your name (if you'd like) in a draw so you can win: (1) a house concert of tales and tunes; (2) a visit by the author to your bookclub or social gathering to discuss the themes that emerge from the book; or (3) an extended personal conversation about your own "journey into soul."

Okay, how am I doing so far? Godin says, about shipping, that it is the creative person's job to get their work out there. What happens after that is out of their hands. Giving a gift will not, in itself, guarantee its reception. So, with this, I've done my bit. I've created, I've shipped, and now, whatever happens, happens ... or doesn't.

But here's one more incentive to help you decide if you want to receive this gift. I'm attaching a link to my podcast, where I'm making a chapter from the book available, so you can listen to it, for free. It's the chapter from which the book draws its title, "Talking to Trees." I hope you enjoy it.