Connectivity & Friendship
While face-to-face conversations with old (and new) friends are trying during this time, it’s still important to feel heard and to continue to connect with others in meaningful ways.
Book Club for Adults
Stewart’s provides the books!
April 5th: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Book Club May – August will begin at 5:30pm
May 26th: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant
June 30th: Cancer Made me a Shallower Person, Miriam Engelberg
July 28th: Between Two Kingdoms, Suleika Jaouad
August 25th: When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
Butterfly Boxes
Butterfly Boxes (appropriate for all ages) help you or someone you love find inspiration and strength during their personal journey with cancer. Each Butterfly Box contains art or writing materials and self-guided instructions that encourage self expression through creativity, mindfulness and play.
CREATIVITY Butterfly Box:
Clay Work (Available Jan 1 – Feb 10)
Clay, like pain, can be worked and reworked into something entirely new. Clay work helps individuals to reclaim the self by awakening creativity and healing.
Watercolor (Available Feb 11 – Mar 20)
Watercolor painting involves being in the flow, using water to change the saturation of a painted surface. Allowing oneself to experiment with the process of watercolor promotes energy.
Zen Collage (Available Mar 21 – Apr 30)
Collage can be a meditative and relaxing method of piecing together imagery with bits and pieces of color, shape and pattern. Working with parts to create a whole, helps increase focus and self confidence.
MINDFULNESS Butterfly Box:
Story Preserves (Available Jan 1 – Feb 10)
Taking a moment to reframe and document the meaningful chapters of your life story brings renewed perspective to where you are on your current journey.
Restorative Journaling (Available Feb 11 – Mar 20)
Writing down your thoughts in response to journal prompts gives shape to emotions such as frustration, sadness, hopefulness and anger.
Ink Dreamscapes (Available Mar 21 – Apr 30)
The imperfect process of mark-making with brush and ink fosters renewed self-awareness and living in the moment.
PLAY Butterfly Box:
Pieces and Parts Tinkering (Available Jan 1 – Feb 10)
Thoughtfully arranging found objects and materials from nature engages the senses and promotes flexible thinking, helping one to respond rather than react to obstacles that may come their way.
Tiny Environments (Available Feb 11 – Mar 20)
Focusing on completing tiny succulent plant environments purifies one’s home environment and provides new growth to tend.
Word Play (Available Mar 21 – Apr 30)
Reframe difficult life events by using humor, metaphor, and wordplay to create a new narrative for your life experiences.
Poetry is Life Restorative Writing Group
Novice writers are welcome to freely share their life stories or cancer journey through the expressive form of prose and poetry, while embracing the friendship and conversation of fellow participants. Led by Akronite Jason Blakely, owner of Poetry Is Life Publishing.
Gadgets for Guys
Build comradery with other guys who are also navigating the cancer journey while working together on projects which inspire conversation and healing. The featured gadget for this makerspace workshop is derived from Tiny Circuits, Akron-based producer of tiny, open-source electronics. All are welcome.