The gaily decorated cards, received or sent, the increasing intensity of sales alerts, and the obligatory, or beloved, gatherings of family and friends; it makes sense that we move toward change at the holidays. We’re facing an ending as we move into a new year. Facebook hammers us with choosing words of intention, emails promising the best way to fight holiday weight, and people we know declare this to be the year that they’ll do Whole 30, run a marathon, or go vegan. We focus on self and community with a different intensity. My mom gave me a book about authors describing their favorite bookstores. “I never give a book as a gift without inscribing it,” she said. Sure enough, there was her familiar hand…

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