Tall Tales from Kansas

I just finished this little treasure of a book, Foster by Claire Keegan. A short story if you will, about a young girl who is sent to live with relatives when her mother is about to have yet another baby. The reader senses that things are hard at home, not enough food to go around, the relationship between the mother and father feels strained, so off she goes, to what she does not really know, or understand. She comes to see a different way of living, of being, of learning what it is to feel love. That’s all I will say about it. It’s so well written with no stereotypical trite reductions. There will be more Claire Keegan in my future. Highly recommended. Don’t you love the cover of the book? It’s the perfect size/weight to hold in your hands in bed at night. You might want a pencil on the nightstand. For underlining, or notes in the margins, your choice.

While we are talking about books, I look forward to settling in with Michaels Pollan’s new one: A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness. Those who have followed me for awhile know I loved his book about psychedelics – How to Change Your Mind. I find the whole concept of consciousness to be fascinating. Do I understand it fully? No. Must I to be intrigued by it? No. Maybe it’s better if it remains a bit wondrous, something not be be fully pinned down by the scientific community.

Below I am adding two links to some good podcasts related to Pollan’s book. The first one is an interview he did with Ezra Klein – it’s about 90 minutes long.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/opinion/eza-klein-podcast-michael-pollan.html

The second one is an interview with Terry Gross on NPR – it’s about 45 minutes.

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5719479/michael-pollans-journey-to-understand-consciousness

I enjoyed them both.