Sustaining Spirit - by Naomi Ortiz (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"must read" - Adela Nieves, Traditional Health Practitioner, Taino (Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean)

Caring - Volunteering - Always too much work to do - Burnout

Does this sound familiar? Burnout is a vicious cycle.

Naomi Ortiz went through this cycle many times before she realized:

This Is Not Working.

Sustaining Spirit shows how she broke the cycle of burnout and brought balance into her life.

"Sustaining Spirit takes us on a poetic and layered journey"- Lisa Hoffman, International Human Rights Activist

Naomi provides us with a guide to self-care, sharing her journey and the strategies she's learned from interviewing over 30 social justice activists.

"beautifully crafted and exquisitely written" - Melanie Morrison, Allies for Change

Here's a taste of this remarkable book:

"We live in a world where there is a raging storm swirling around our bodies all of the time. Wind blowing so hard we can't catch our breath.

Do not get blown away in this raging storm.

We need you. You have so many gifts to give.

¿Y dónde está tu ombligo? Where are you rooted?

How does one grow roots in the midst of this storm, you ask?

Growing our roots is a leap of faith. We must trust ourselves that where our roots wander and how deep they grow is just right.

In knowing where our roots grow, in tending to how and where they spread, we make a commitment to ourselves that we can survive here.

Self-care is a practice of returning. Of remembering. Of noticing.

Be gentle. When living in a way where many truths exist at once, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the possibilities and the complexity. Accept all of who you are because this is the place where you begin, the essential truth of your nature.

You are precious, and it's up to you to carry this preciousness centered in your heart.

I carry mine tenderly, wrapped up in an old piece of cloth my grandmother embroidered with the sun and stars.

Sometimes, remembering I'm precious takes all the courage I have.

Sometimes, it'll take all the courage you have too."

"activists from every movement can gain strength from Sustaining Spirit" - Alice Wong, Founder, Disability Visibility Project(TM)

Wow. Powerful words. Uplifting. Providing a light during challenging times.

Sustaining Spirit includes wisdom from over 30 leaders representing different communities including:

adrienne maree brown (author of Emergent Strategy)

Erin Blanding (WE Movement)

Cristy Chung (Move to End Violence)

Debra Erenberg (Amnesty International)

Adam Maltby (social worker)

Adi Afek (reproductive justice activist)

Emma Fialka-Feldman (inclusion educator)

Hillary Jorgensen (Colorado Progressive Coalition)

Janice Felka, (author, What Matters: Reflections on Disability, Community and Love)

Jennifer Thomas (Institute for Educational Leadership)

Kellie Haigh (MSW, disability activist)

Kim Borowicz (Independent Living Research Utilization)

Lisa Hoffman (international human rights activist)

Melinda Haus (Justice Moves),

Micah Fialka-Feldman (Through the Same Door)

Rachel Scoggins (artist, educator)

Rahnee Patrick (ADAPT and Access Living, Chicago)

Rich Feldman (James and Grace Lee Boggs Center)

Sarah Triano (disability rights activist)

"A guide book for activists and leaders in social justice movements." - Erin Blanding, WE.org

Review Quotes

With this book, Naomi Ortiz reminds us that we are part of the flow of nature, and helps infuse the spirit in each of us back into our activism. It's 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)

A guide book for activists and leaders in social justice movements. It's a workbook to use in practicing living well daily; her questions are journal prompts and therapy of the soul. It's a manifesto of the lives of quiet struggle and magnificence, stories that let us know someone knows us, they showed up, and that we matter.

I couldn't be more grateful to have this work in the world. - Erin Blanding, Director, Global Program Innovation, WE we.org, Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Borderlands Restoration Leadership Institute

Naomi Ortiz's Sustaining Spirit Self-Care for Social Justice is a book that couldn't come at a better time. The labor of activism can also hurt and grind us down. As multiple marginalized communities confront new dangers and challenges, activists from every movement can gain strength from Sustaining Spirit Self-Care for Social Justice. This book is a gift for anyone searching for intergenerational wisdom and stories. - Alice Wong, Founder, Disability Visibility Project(TM)

In this beautifully crafted and exquisitely written book, Naomi Ortiz has given a great gift to those of us whose passionate devotion to social justice activism can too often lead to bodily and spiritual exhaustion. From a place of love, she invites us to examine the habits, mindsets, and practices that keep us moving at a frenzied and productive pace, while depriving us of the joy, replenishment, and connection we need to survive and flourish. She invites us to explore how we can incorporate sustaining self-care into our work on behalf of the communities we love. - Melanie Morrison, Allies for Change

Sustaining Spirit takes us on a poetic and layered journey where the reader is guided to reflect on identity, purpose, and self-care to create personal and social change in a rapidly changing world.

Every page of this spiritual book is a gift, full of poignant stories, poetic metaphors, insightful questions, and practical suggestions to sustain ourselves as activists over the long-term.

Ortiz is a spiritual warrior, offering gentle yet incisive guidance and practices to refill and replenish ourselves, including drawing sustenance from nature, ceremony, energy work, meditation, and centering ourselves in community. - Lisa Hoffman, International Human Rights Activist