Streams of Contentment: Lessons I Learned on My Uncle’s Farm

When Wicks (Riding the Dragon) fishes the stream of contentment, he lands memories of summer visits to his uncle’s farm in the Catskills. Looking back, this city boy realizes that much of what he knows about life came from his rural relatives; thus, with this exploration of the nature of contentment, he starts from a personal foundation. Crucial to him now on his spiritual journey, he says, is to be happy with who he is and where he is. The first part comprises lessons and stories related to finding gentle contentment; each brief chapter ends with a pithy précis. The second part guides the reader on a 30-day retreat to the country; each day offers theory followed by a “simple practice.” Do not expect new trail marking or eloquent storytelling. Many of Wicks’s narratives are composites, but he borrows the wisest stories from such raconteurs as James Herriot and Anthony de Mello. Wicks, a psychologist and spiritual guide, is a professional listener, not teller, so his storytelling includes baggy prose (“This statement may seem surprising at first, but when one thinks about it for a while, it becomes clear”), vague pronouns, and clichés (“We can act out of our true identity”). The author needs, and deserves, harder editing. (Oct.)