Small Pleasures is a collection of forty-nine short meditative  essays that help readers to turn aside from their chaotic lives for a  while to experience grace and possibilitiy in the small, critically  important things in life. Author Justine Willis Toms divides the book  into five sections, each with eassays that draw upon her many  connections and her wealth of experiences:  

• A Broad Horizon: How We See Ourselves in the World
• Animals and Nature as Teacher
• Be an Activist without Driving Yourself Crazy
• With a Little Help from Our Friends -- Circles and Friendships
• Celebrations and Rituals

With a foreword by author Carole Lee Finders (co-author of Laurel's Kitchen and Enduring Lives: Living Portraits of Women of Faith in Action), Small Pleasure offers many ways for readers to "tune-in" to their daily lives and connect with what is good, meaningful, and beautiful.

"Justine Toms writes with a marvelous simplicity,  innocence, and open heart. She writes of the simple things that make  life rich and so worthwhile. Her book is a mixture of diary and essays, a  perfect way to make her point: Simple pleasures ultimately mean more  than grand enlightenment or even sophisticated wisdom. This is a book of  hope for the new century."

-- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul

"I loved reading this book. Justine muses about  something that caught her attention which on its own is an interesting  slice of her interesting life. The so-much-more follows, an observation  that touches the heart or hits a nerve or inspires doing something on  the spot. She caught me with her tale of being overloaded with stuff on  her desk as a reflection of her state of mind which brought the nine-day  clutter clearing Feng Shui practice to mind. Ten minutes later I was   putting a defunct copier in my car to take to the one day electronics  recycling station. It may inspire someone else to call friends and start  a circle or stop to celebrate or do something small to make a  difference. A wise book from a wise woman with a great inner kid."

-- Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, author of Urgent Message From Mother and Goddesses in Everywoman