Lessons for My Daughter

A Mother’S Wisdom on Growing in Grace

We often go through life thinking there is a set order for how we do things. That may work some of the time, but it can leave us unprepared to accept and thrive on the unexpected. In her semiautobiographical book, Lessons for My Daughter: A Mothers Wisdom on Growing in Grace, author Sophia N. Johnson, PhD, underscores the redeeming value of all life experiences in whatever variation they emerge. A public tribute to her daughter, the essays in this book is also an emotional and spiritual tribute to daughters everywhere. The journey begins with her graduate school days conducting fieldwork in India. There she studied the values of the Vedic religion, one of the major traditions that shaped Hinduism, and learned acceptance and what it means to pay attention to her thoughts and feelings without judging them. She also learned to appreciate the deeper cognitive value of mindfulness, by embracing the spiritual foundation of her own Christian faith as an approach to understanding lifes ups and downs, a lesson she wants all daughters to learn and share as a basis for a life well lived. The narrative moves from India to the West Indies, with Johnson creatively re-imagining family life and weaving intellectual insights into her own complex identity, then finding grace to love and honor her father after his death. She reflects on the beauty of meditation and yoga. The final essay is dedicated to kindness, compassion, service and other sacred truths for living a purposeful life. Above all, erudite values and principles are honored as she shares her own awakening through the practice of prayer and mindfulness, stillness and grace Lessons for My Daughter: A Mothers Wisdom on Growing in Grace is a warm reflection on finding grace. Readers will grow into appreciating all life experiences as lessons in development, but also learn to relax and savor the enduring insights of lifes surprises.