More Travels On Grace Street

Praise for More Travels on Grace Street: “Jeff Blake strikes me as one of the most persistent and discerning seekers—after experience, knowledge, beauty, integrity, love, and grace—whom I have ever known, and his writings about travel, history, poetry, race relations, family, and faith resonate with all of the qualities that one would expect of a committed lifelong seeker. I have recommended Traveling on Grace Street to many people as Blake’s bona fide gift to the world, which he returns to it out of both love and gratitude, and More Travels on Grace Street derives from the same uplifting wellsprings. I recommend it just as heartily as I continue to do his earlier book.” —Michael Bishop, author of Ancient of Days and Who Made Stevie Crye?, Pine Mountain, Georgia “Nobody will ever show you what grace actually looks like better than Jeff Blake, who continues his travels on Grace Street with this excellent volume. He is a genius about grace. The grace of God. The grace that carries us through the rough patches of life. The grace of sacred places. The grace of ordinary life. He is my teacher.” —Joanna Adams, minister, Presbyterian Church (USA), Atlanta, Georgia “I got to know Jeff Blake through his writings and our occasional bird-watching. In fact, I have followed his words for at least ten years. We share a common passion for nature, including Texas wildflowers. I’ve read with interest of his encounters with poets and writers and other interesting folks. I have observed his journey through various trials, which are common to all of us, and count him as a friend. Jeff’s reflections on the meaning of grace interest me and make for good reading.” —Robert Nunnally, attorney, Allen, Texas “Jeff Blake invites and guides on a journey of grace. With courage, vulnerability, and strength, his full and open heart lights the thread that connects. We are held, embraced, enticed into stepping more fully, lovingly, and deeply into and onto our own sacred path. Jeff opens doors as he leads us through a garden of possibility. His words ring with support. We enclose in the intimacy of tenderness as compassion and grace guide knowing and faith.” —Cathy Edgett, author of Breast Strokes: Two Friends Journal through the Unexpected Gifts of Cancer and Love Letters: To My Daughters-in-Law, Mill Valley, California

Traveling on Grace Street The most important lesson I have learned in the fifty years I have spent working toward the building of a better world is that the true work of social transformation starts within. It begins inside your own heart and mind. Thus, to truly revolutionize our society, we must first revolutionize ourselves. Its been a long journey, all the way from stepping off a cotton farm in Alabama to the epicenter of the struggle for civil rights in America. Some days when I go to my office in the early morning and look out over the great monuments beyond the Capitol, I think, How could this be? How could a poor boy from Alabama have lived such a life? I tell you, it has been the grace of God. Jeff Blake, a brother from Alabama, has written the story of grace in his own journey, and I am pleased to commend his Traveling on Grace Street to you. He too has been in the struggle. He too has kept his eye on the prize. John Lewis United States Congressman Atlanta, Georgia

Grace Street is Jeff Blakes home, just as Grace Street is home for all of us. His gift is to remind each of us of that. His words are filled with wisdom with which we can resonateits deeply human. He offers the insights that have arisen in a life lived fully and mindfully and gratefully. In this new book, Jeff inspires, encourages, and welcomes us all back to Grace Streetthe neighborhood we all share. Kathleen Dowling Singh, author of The Grace in Aging, The Grace in Dying, and The Grace in Living

Jeff Blake lives metaphorically on Grace Street but there is more. Grace is his spiritual home among all the neighbors in the World House. He is the author of a trilogy of books on grace -- Traveling on Grace Street, More Travels on Grace Street, and Homestretch - This Journey on Grace Street. Blake is also the author of Ode to Grace which is a collection of his poetry. In A Year on Grace Street - Daily Signposts, he gathers his journey in a book of daily discoveries and gives his readers signposts on the amazing life we have been given.

An expansive guide for resistance and solidarity across this storied region. Richmond and Central Virginia are a historic epicenter of America's racialized history. This alternative guidebook foregrounds diverse communities in the region who are mobilizing to dismantle oppressive systems and fundamentally transforming the space to live and thrive. Featuring personal reflections from activists, artists, and community leaders, this book eschews colonial monuments and confederate memorials to instead highlight movements, neighborhoods, landmarks, and gathering spaces that shape social justice struggles across the history of this rapidly growing area. The sites, stories, and events featured here reveal how community resistance and resilience remain firmly embedded in the region's landscape. A People's Guide to Richmond and Central Virginia counters the narrative that elites make history worth knowing, and sites worth visiting, by demonstrating how ordinary people come together to create more equitable futures.