Book: The Art of Holding Space
By: Heather Plett
Reviewed by: Kenzie Bertrand
The Premise: The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of Love, Liberation, and Leadership covers the ability to “hold space” for oneself and for others by thoughtfully witnessing, accepting, and supporting someone without judgement, while retaining boundaries and sense of self. The book is split into three parts: The Fundamentals of Holding Space, Strengthening the Container and Advanced Concepts.
The Bottomline: I was recommended this book by a family friend over the summer. When I told her about The Roundtable and what kind of work we do, along with an update on my life and what I’ve been up to, she documented it as a “Kenzie must-read.” Am I glad I listened to her! In a world where a lot of people are feeling disconnected from themselves, others and “the way things were”, the ability to hold space is so important right now. What surprised me most was the book isn’t all about the importance of creating a non-judgmental space, how to work through conflict or build trust with others. The biggest takeaway I got was the importance of all these learnings towards myself. Heather Plett mentions in the book that sometimes we get so caught up on being a good version of ourselves to the people around us, we forget to create that safe space and build boundaries for us. Sometimes it’s hard to be kind to an important person if your life, you.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a positive change and/or inspiration to let go of judgement and control. As Pamela Slim (author of Body of Work) mentions on the cover… “Required reading for anyone who works with other humans.”
