Everyday Matters - Danny Gregory

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

28 Oct 2007 06:57 PM

The title Everyday Matters is a play on words. The book is about things that most of us see on a daily basis, the views from our windows, the canisters on our kitchen counters, our children's toys, the pictures on our mantels. But at the same time the title emphasizes that each and every day is of importance. Together both phrases emphasize that life matters, and that the little daily things we touch, and see and do all matter.

Before he wrote this book the author, Danny Gregory, lived with his wife Patti, their baby son, and their dog in a Greenwich Village apartment. His wife Patti was severely injured in a subway accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. As their family struggled to make sense of life and to find meaning in the new world they inhabited, Gregory began to draw.

Everyday Matters is subtitled "A New York Diary". The book is like a diary or journal, as the reader studies the sketches and reads the entries they learn about Gregory and his family, about what they eat, about their worries, and joys. At times the book is so honest and revealing that it is heartbreaking. But it's also joyful. And the book is more than reading one person's experience. It's a lesson in noticing all the little things that make up our days and it's also a lesson in appreciating them. After I read Everyday Matters, I started doing little sketches myself. I started noticing the design of the spices crowded in my cabinet, the pattern the leaves made on the sidewalk, the items on my desk.

I'm very grateful to Danny Gregory for writing this book and for sharing his experiences with the world. I have it sitting on the corner of my desk as a reminder to take notice and appreciate all the little things in each day.

Also See:

The Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul - Kathy Cano Murillo

Wreck This Journal - Keri Smith

Author Interview - Linda Paulson Adams: Thoughts on Creativity

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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