Crash Book

 

 

Crash Book is the second of my former therapist Marlene Denessen’s books that I was delighted to discover online and read. My curiosity was peaked by the title and cover image depicting a closeup of a deer head. It turns out, the book documents her healing journey after being seriously injured in a car accident involving a deer on Route 195 in Massachusetts.

Published in 2022, this book is a pretty handy resource filled with practical advice for developing a meditation practice. It contains anecdotes that humanize the experience for those of us just beginning. Marlene’s voice is straightforward, nonjudgmental, and rings with clarity. Her salt-of-the-Earth guidance is easy to understand and incorporates background information about mindfulness and wellbeing. 

For example, here is a quote from Marc Hiles of the Iona Center that is so relatable.

“We are overdosed on data and underfed on the mysterious. Our brains inflate while our souls wither.” 

I need to be especially cognizant of not drowning my brain while my soul remains thirsty for knowledge. This concept also brings to mind a beautiful word I learned recently from Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. “NUMINOUS” means mysterious, spiritual, enchanting, mystical, bewitching. Wouldn’t the world benefit from a boost of numinousness?

In Crash Book, Marlene talks about what she calls the “passing show” or the daily distractions that inevitably compete for our attention during meditation. She matter of factly counsels us to recognize the passing show, pay it no mind, and redirect our focus on our breathing and the process of clearing our heads. This is powerful advice that has always worked for me. She also references the Buddhist term for this inner chatter, “monkey mind” of which I am most definitely afflicted!

Little Dipper

Little Dipper: Roots of Healing—Tides of Change by Marlene Denessen is a gem of a little book published in 2007, yet much of its wisdom remains relevant in 2025. 

“I listen to the radio as I exercise. The situation in the Middle East is violent and bloody, and it isn’t going to go away soon.”

Marlene Denessen was my therapist back in the late 1990s and early 2000s during my existential crisis of motherhood, divorce, identity. I knew she was smart, but I was unaware of the extent of her deep-thinking and writing abilities. Her counseling empowered me during a deeply confusing time in my life, and I credit her support with allowing me to move forward in life with gratitude and positivity. 

I continue to be inspired by Marlene’s outlook as I read this now, at an age close to hers when this book was written. This Amazon description captures the essence of the book. 

“Rendered in crisp and engaging prose, and drawing upon the insights of the long career of a professional helper, this book is a must-read for those who seek, in their own ways, simplicity, spirituality and wholeness.”

The story is a recounting of a period of time when the author was searching for clarity, grieving the loss of a grandchild, and seeking to simplify her way of life. Like Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond, she purchases a remote plot of land in Canada where she stays for weeks at a time in the summer embracing a slower pace and healthy lifestyle surrounded by the beauty of nature.

Sounds like the perfect antidote to our current social malaise brought on by greed, intolerance, and (mis)information overload.