How To Be A Living Thing
Join the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab and New York Times bestselling author Mari Andrew for a discussion of her most recent book, How To Be A Living Thing: Meditations on Intuitive Oysters, Hopeful Doves, and Being Human in the World (Penguin Random House, 2025). Andrew will also discuss her career as a chaplain and how chaplains can think about their futures in the profession.
Mari Andrew is a writer, artist, and speaker based in New York City. She is the author of Am I There Yet? and My Inner Sky and writes the newsletter “Out of the Blue” on Substack.
Penguin Random House has generously extended a discount to those who wish to purchase the book. Books ordered here will also include a bookplate signed by the author.
Learning Outcomes
We have indexed this webinar to the following learning outcomes, which should not be construed as endorsement of this event by either ACPE or BCCI:
BCCI PIC2: Articulate ways in which one’s feelings, values, assumptions, culture, and social location affect social practice.
BCCI PIC3: Attend to one’s own physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.
ACPE Category A Outcome 2: Socio-Cultural Identity, Levels IB and IIB.
ACPE Category B Outcome 1: Self -Care, Levels IB, IIA, and IIB.
We thank Starr King School for the Ministry for their support of this event. Learn more at www.sksm.edu.
From Andrew’s website:
My name is Mari (rhymes with starry) and I’m a writer, artist, speaker, teacher, and needle-felting enthusiast living in New York.
I grew up in Seattle, went to college in Chicago, taught English in Chile, and spent a few years working a series of retail/food/nonprofit jobs in Baltimore and DC. My life experience has been my best writing teacher.
My first book, Am I There Yet? is a New York Times Bestselling collection of observations from being in my 20s and navigating the murky waters of bad jobs, fun adventures, grief, moving, finding community, and creating home in a studio apartment.
I wrote my second book, My Inner Sky, when I was recovering from illness and finding home within myself again. It’s an ode to the experiences that make up a whole life, not necessarily a purely happy one. It was published in March 2021 by Penguin.
My third book, How to be a Living Thing, sprouted from the fecund mud of the 2020 Covid pandemic and how much time I spent wondering about human nature during that time. It comes out on July 15, 2025 and I’m just thrilled about it.
I lead workshops on creativity, healing, and personal resilience, and I speak on these topics too! You can listen to a talk of mine here.
I write a weekly-ish reflection via my newsletter, which you can read for free here.
Literary representation by the lovely Cindy Uh at CAA.
