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Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice

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Most of the cover is a painting by Naomi Ortiz of a brown-skinned woman with purple feathered earrings, a purple short sleeve top and blue jeans. Her eyes and mouth are closed in peaceful contemplation. She holds a red flower with green stem and leaves. To the right of the painting is a photograph by Steven Wilhelm of cacti. Text on the cover: Sustaining Spirit. Self-Care for Social Justice. Naomi Ortiz. Cover is designed by Mona Z. Kraculdy. Publisher, Reclamation Press.


Sustaining Spirit offers powerful, thoughtful, transformative insight into self-care, weaving together personal experiences in class, race and disability advocacy into informative advice on dealing with the risks of burnout.
NEW Group Book Discussion Guide

Award Winner, Southwest Books of the Year

What people are saying…

“I have never been more nourished by a book. I’m sure i will be in a process of rereading and absorbing it for years.” – Bethany Louisos, Amazon Reader Review

“This is a gentle, transformative book. Written for social justice activists, it has a much wider application…where many people feel frightened, depressed, or angry about government actions against women, people of color, immigrant people, LGBTQ people, and the environment.… Ortiz draws on her Mestiza community’s spiritual traditions, suggesting strategies for creating nourishing rituals using the reader’s own ancestry, experience, and traditions. She emphasizes how to identify one’s strengths, how to manage stress, how to decide when and whether a job, relationship, or other situation has become untenable.… Each chapter ends with questions intended to lead the reader to internal knowledge, self-awareness, and peace… For me, the best choice was to read the book slowly to fully integrate its wisdom.” –Michele Sharpe, Amazon Reader Review

“I find myself reading and rereading this unique, intriguing book as a meditative guide… A must-read for anyone living or wishing to live, a full, unfettered life.” – B, Amazon Reader Review

“Ortiz provides practical steps on how to engage in self-care every day…how to hold space for ourselves, our communities, and for the people no longer with us, and how to survive in a world of pain, conflict, and uncertainty.” –Alice Wong, Founder, Disability Visibility Project™

Light-skinned mestiza with dark short hair reaches towards cacti. Silver round earring, heart neacklace, black bracelet. on arm is spiral tattoo and on chest a tattoo which says voice. She is wearing a black sweater and print top. Cacti, desert trees and mountains are in the background. Photo by Rachel Scoggins. Text on top of the picture says, It takes hundreds of raindrops to nourish a plant’s roots, like it takes hundreds of small acts to nourish ourselves.

“It’s a Workbook to use in practicing living well daily…her questions are journal prompts AND therapy [for] the soul.” – Director, Erin Blanding, Global Program Innovation, WE we.org and Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Borderlands Restoration Leadership Institute 

 “…a must-read for those of us doing this work, and a critical reminder that we must care for ourselves too so we can be there for the long term.” – Adela Nieves, Traditional Health Practitioner, Taino (Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean)

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