Have you ever had a period in time where your body wasn’t keeping up with your mind? You had ideas or dreams, but were too tired or unwell to chase them? Oh maybe it’s your mind that’s fatigued by the continual stress of living in the current world.

I’ve been feeling that way lately. My brain is full of inspiration, but I have very little energy to act on it. Some days, regardless of how much energy I have, my brain sad, unmotivated, and stressed.

Usually, slow-paced books make me want to saw my leg off. These books are not so much slow, though, as thoughtful. They make you want to take a breath and re-calibrate.

They Came Like Swallows, by William Maxwell, is a tender book written from three different perspectives. It takes place in the Midwest during the Spanish Flu epidemic. It was a relief to hear the familiarity of the concerns of the time. The insightful way Maxwell deals with emotions has you feeling with each character in a cathartic way. I re-read sections of it as I went along, something I rarely do, and truly enjoyed it.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, is one part musing about the natural world, and one part reflection on the pace of human life and how totally and abruptly one’s health can affect that pace. This may be the first time I knowingly read a book by a differently-abled person.

Bailey uses lovely, imaginative descriptions from 19th naturalists as well as poetry from the 18th and 19th centuries, including haiku, woven into something of a guided meditation of sorts. It’s not a meditation at all, but it felt like one. The writing was gentle and lovely and made me care about whether or not snails make a noise when they eat. The emotive and thoughtful writing reminded me about this book about trees.

Even if you aren’t having health issues, you’re likely suffering in some way from the chronic stress of our times. I offer these books as a kind of balm for that feeling – relax into them and let them hold space for you for a while.