Beacon writer wins Nautilus Book Awards grand prize
Though our coffers may feel flush, money and the uncertainty it engenders need to play a far less central role in our lives.
That sentiment, along with plenty of evidence to back it up, is a focal point of Beacon writer Jeff Golden’s book, Reclaiming the Sacred: Healing Our Relationships with Ourselves and the World, which won the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards grand prize — the first self-published title in at least 10 years to do so.
The Nautilus Book Awards, founded in 2000 to “celebrate and honor books that support conscious living and green values, wellness, social change, social justice, and spiritual growth,” present one to three gold awards in 35 categories; Golden’s was one of two winners in Personal Growth & Self-Help for small presses and self-published titles. The judges then selected one book to receive the grand prize.
Reclaiming the Sacred, says Golden, “takes a deep dive into purpose, belonging and the way that money becomes an obsession.
“How is it that money and possessions have come to be so central?” Golden asks, pointing out that suicide rates, a surge of people who feel alone and other measures of unhappiness are well-known but deflected when it comes to fiscal matters.
“There’s a level on which generally all of us are among the converted, where money substitutes for things that matter,” he says. He notes that research shows that “money counts for just 2 to 4 percent of things that matter to us.
“The immense material wealth that we have is inconceivable to our ancestors,” he notes. “How much do people really need? This is a conversation around that. The book suggests you reflect on, even during those times when you were lacking, what is more important to you.”
In a tonal shift, the latter part of the book “dives into almost mystical ideas congruent to the first section,” says Golden. There, he pursues the thought that “what does serve us best benefits the globe as well.”
He asks: “How do we step off this careening train and drop into something that serves us? Getting engaged in politics is somewhat the arc of the book. Though there’s plenty of finger-pointing, finally we shift to, ‘How do we step back into what’s more nourishing?’”
Golden, who founded Beacon Prison Action and co-founded the Common Fire Community, began writing Reclaiming the Sacred in 2011. “It was all meant to be, and it had a way about it that carried me through those years — a coming together of many important elements,” he says. “Writing a book was never a goal. Like most art, there’s what we bring to it and what emerges. This experience was one of me being patient, a beautiful dance.”
The original idea was a short dive into key issues of our time. “The first chapter had to be about money and happiness,” he recalls. “It evolved into a complete flip, about money and issues of consumption, then a deeper dive not on my radar. I feel that somehow I was in the right place for this book to come through me. It has allowed me to deepen my presence and belonging in the world.”
Asked if he felt optimistic, Golden was quick to reply: “Where we’re at politically doesn’t bode well, but when it comes to possibility for individual change, there is enormous potential for each of us for a greater purpose. If each of us can walk this path, obviously we win, and that feeds into the bigger picture, which is only positive and good.”
Golden will host a reading and “experiential exercise” at 4 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Beahive, 6 Eliza St., in Beacon. Reclaiming the Sacred is available at Stanza Books and the Beacon Natural Market, or through reclaimingthesacred.net.
