Art, Expression, and Growth: What “Things I Think About and Other Works” Teaches Us
This week I finished reading Nadia Clark’s book entitled Things I Think About and Other Works: A Healing Through Creative Expression. Nadia is a U.S. Army Veteran, former law enforcement officer, Author, and Entrepreneur. Her book takes you on a journey into the significant events that impacted her life and causes you to ponder on the gift of life and how you use each day to improve physically, mentally, and spiritually. This book is straightforward, yet grabs your attention immediately and can be read in one to two days.
After the dedication portion of the book, the book contains forty-seven short chapters that briefly detail her childhood, experiences as a black woman working in law enforcement, battle with maintaining her mental and physical health, and questions that she asks herself that anyone can identify with. In the chapter entitled “A Little Intro”, the quote “And I was told I chose the careers, I chose the city, that was my cost of doing business…deal with it,” reminds us that we are responsible for the choices that we make in our professional lives and we have the power to make different choices.
The chapter entitled “Home” makes us aware that the concept of home is a physical and mental dwelling. If you are not comfortable with yourself, being in a particular physical location will not relieve your mental anguish. In the chapter “Life Change”, Nadia explains how searching for her identity led her to strengthen her relationship with God by aligning her identity with God’s promises. This chapter teaches us that believing in the sovereignty of God can relieve our anxiety and other mental battles.
Nadia provides the following American Psychological Association definition of perfectionism in the chapter entitled “Perfectionism” as: the tendency to demand of others or of oneself an extremely high or even flawless level of performance, in excess of what is required by the situation. It is associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health problems. She insinuates that although perfectionism is harmful, it is required in careers in uniform. I think it is also required in other careers where you are responsible for protecting life such as healthcare and aviation. This chapter makes you think how perfectionism in your own life has shaped the way you treat yourself and the demands that you make on others.
“Wallowing” is a chapter that describes the mental gymnastics that Nadia participated in during her career. The chapter “Officer Down” reads like a crime drama as Nadia vividly describes the sequence of events that occur after and officer is shot. These chapters leave the reader yearning for more and I hope that Nadia will write a crime drama soon based on her experiences.
The chapters entitled “What are you waiting for..” and “Live An Unbelievable Life” are a call to action to do all the things that you have been putting off due to procrastination or suffering from imposter syndrome.
Overall, this book will make you realize that you can overcome any challenges by connecting with God and doing the physical and mental work to become the person that you can be proud of.
