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A review by bhnmt61
For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan

3.0

Recreating the rituals and holidays of my childhood belief system in a way that I can still celebrate, even though my beliefs are no longer the same, is a particular interest of mine. So I was really looking forward to this book, which is subtitled “Rituals for Finding Meaning in our Unlikely World.” The author, Sasha Sagan, is an atheist and the daughter of Carl Sagan. I had high hopes.

But after the beginning, where she establishes the joy and beauty of scientific knowledge and secular understanding of our amazing world, it never really lived up to its promise. There were long lists of the ways a specific holiday or event— like summer solstice or a wedding— has been celebrated throughout human history. That approach could have been interesting, but she never goes into enough detail about anything for you to even remember any of it— it’s just a long list.

She’s so dang sweet and charming that I don’t really feel like I can say the rest of what I think without being cruel, like kicking a bunny or something. So I’ll just stop. It didn’t work for me. I think it would work best for someone who is new to the topic.

p.s. edited to add: I forgot to say that for the first time ever, I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review. Maybe I was too honest.