2024 PenCraft Book Award First Place Winner

What could change in our lives if we invested more of our time and energy in what actually makes us come alive?

In our modern and technologically advanced era, we are pushed to do things faster, better and more effectively than our competitors. We are encouraged to crush it. To work for our own benefit and gain at the expense of others and our planet. We learn we can do it alone. We can sleep when we're dead. We grind our days away with the promise of achieving an ideal of productivity that renders us worthy of our existence.

However, based on my research and experience, I believe humans cannot operate in this machinelike way. Our biology is not built for nonstop work, constant stress and individualism. We cannot work effectively based solely on the premise of more, faster, and better. The choice of being human in a distracted and divided world is hard work. For humans to flourish, we need to remind ourselves of the ways in which we are not like machines.

Let's Connect as Humans! is an invitation to slow down and pause. It's an opportunity to wonder what possibilities might unravel in your life if you intentionally create space for your innate desire for connection and belonging.