Book Review: “The Grace of Enough”

If you have ever had a strong desire to change your life in order to have greater satisfaction and fulfillment, I highly recommend you read “The Grace of Enough.”

This 152-page book is packed with inspirational quotes, real-life examples and challenging tips on how to free yourself from the current reality and to journey with the vision of “pursuing less and living more in a throwaway culture.”

Haley Stewart, Catholic author, podcaster and speaker, has done a wonderful job sharing the journey she and her family took in pursuit of a lifestyle centered around home, family and relationships.  

Dissatisfied with their “cycle of working harder and longer while enjoying life less,” Stewart and her husband, Daniel, decided they and their three children would sell their current home, pare down their personal belongings and move to a sustainable farm outside of Waco, Texas.  

The decision did not come easy, as they would be leaving their comfortable home and friends to live in a 650-square-foot apartment – with no flushing toilet. Daniel would have to give up his job, Haley would have to homeschool their children and the entire family would need to learn how to live the Gospel of Jesus.

The content of the book is divided into three main parts, each part having a few chapters. Part one focuses on “returning to our roots,” part two is about “reconnecting with what makes us human” and part three covers “centering our disconnected lives at home.”

Stewart did a great job supplying a spiritual quotation underneath each chapter title and I found this quite useful as it established a clear focus for the related content. There are quotations from Pope Francis, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and other spiritual authors.  

I also found it easy, and at times humorous, to connect with the real-life examples Stewart shared. Perhaps the best example might be when the parents tried to explain how each family member was going to have to adapt to the non-flushing toilet. 

“Okay kids. Here’s how it works. You sit on the seat like it’s a regular potty and do your business. Put the toilet paper in the potty and then scoop up a cupful of sawdust from this bucket here. Dump the sawdust on top and it keeps the bathroom from getting smelly. Got it?” I can only imagine how the children, or any of us, might have reacted to the situation. 

Stewart seems to be a great storyteller as she blends references from Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si,” with real-life steps for us to take as we make our own journey, and for living out the Gospel: offering hospitality, reviving food culture, reconnecting with the land, nurturing community, centering life around home, family and relationships.

“The Grace of Enough” made me stop and think about my own life and of steps I can take to simplify it.

If you feel you are in a rut and are ready to do something about it, this book is for you.

Author Haley Stewart will be at the Together in Holiness conference Oct. 29 at Christ the King Catholic Church in Oklahoma City.

John H. Dolezal is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.