Rolling Meadows Library: Spirituality and Religion: May 2026

Recent Releases

The Supreme Gift: Love Is the Greatest Thing in the World
by Paulo Coelho, translated by Margaret Jull Costa

Drawing on spiritual traditions across cultures, this brief meditative work posits that love is humanity’s highest calling. Originally published in 1991 in Brazil and told in Paulo Coelho’s signature parable‑like style, it adapts a 19th-century sermon for a more modern audience, inviting readers to consider how compassion, care, and generosity shape personal purpose more than faith alone.

Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning With and Reimagining Faith
by Rachel Held Evans

This posthumous collection of essays from Rachel Held Evans, who unexpectedly passed away in 2019, reflects her ongoing commitment to questioning inherited beliefs while remaining deeply engaged with faith and community. Written with honesty and warmth, the pieces explore doubt, grace, and belonging, modeling a generous, open‑handed approach to belief during times of personal and cultural change.

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness
by Michael Pollan

Embracing the mystery of consciousness from every angle -- scientific, philosophical, spiritual, and literary -- Michael Pollan asks the question: what does it mean to be aware? Ranging far beyond the human mind, he explores how consciousness may take shape both artificially and throughout the natural world, encouraging readers to look more closely at their own inner lives and to consider the possibility that the universe itself is more alive than we might think.

The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change
by Rebecca Solnit

Surveying decades of cultural, ecological, and social change, Rebecca Solnit’s hopeful reflection argues that profound transformation often unfolds quietly and unevenly. By tracing movements toward interconnection and collective responsibility, she invites readers to look beyond despair and recognize how new ways of living emerge from endings.

The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary
by Terry Tempest Williams

Through lyrical essays and closely observed stories, this book gathers moments of grace (which the author calls “Glorians”) found in nature, teaching, protest, love, and loss. Written in the shadow of environmental upheaval and collective grief, it invites readers toward stillness, attentiveness, and a renewed sense of the sacred woven quietly through ordinary life.

Spirit Daughter: Own Your Power, Change Your Life
by Jill Wintersteen

Part memoir and part spiritual guide, this book traces astrologer Jill Wintersteen’s journey from burnout and anxiety toward intuition and inner clarity. Rooted in mindfulness and cosmic spirituality, it encourages readers to trust their inner wisdom, work with cycles of change, and release comparison in favor of a more aligned, self-directed life.

Contact your librarian for more great books!