“NOTICING THE GOOD WORLD EVERYWHERE”

OCTOBER 11, 2025 – Our favorite (at least until the next one arrives) granddaughter is a regular reminder that however we might feel about the prospects—for the health of the earth’s biosphere, the survival of democracy in America (such as it has been), global peace and security in the short run, intermediate term or long haul—we must embrace the good and highlight the positive. And we must do so not superficially or with Pollyannish gloss but with conviction. To develop that conviction, we need to notice “good” when it presents itself and do and be good ourselves. Likewise, we need to be on the lookout for the “positive,” even in negative circumstances.

Outside of the ceasefire in Gaza holding, most of today’s news was “same old”—political standoff due to political dysfunction due to political division due to the cumulative effect of multiple factors inextricably bound and twisted in the lives, thoughts and actions of 390 million people, if you include the estimated +53 million who aren’t full-fledged citizens, not to mention the millions more people who preceded us in this vast land of ours. There’s not a lot of “good” or “positive” to be found in the news without scratching hard in the nooks, corners and crannies of back page stories.

But then arrived the latest book by St. Paul writer, Peg Guilfoyle: An Eye for Joy – Noticing the Good World Everywhere. She’d left an advance copy on our back porch in time for our granddaughter’s birthday. Inside the cover, Peg had written, “Happy Birthday—and joy! – To Illiana.” I took time out from my pergola project and began reading. By the end of the prologue I was hooked and proceeded to read an essay in each of the five sections: “Noticing the Good World in [1] Art [2] People [3] Travel [4] Nature, and [5] History.” Soon I lost all track of time. Everything about the essays was brilliant—subject matter, characters, examples of “good” and “positive,” and the writing itself. I can attest that this amazing and timely—and I dare say timeless—book is wholly appropriate for the same readership that Mark Twain described for his 1881 novel, The Prince and the Pauper: “A tale for young people of all ages.” I’ve since nearly finished reading the rest of Peg’s essays and enjoyed every one of them. I can’t wait to present the book to Illiana tomorrow, when she celebrates her 10^th birthday. An excellent fourth-grade reader, she’ll find the book eminently accessible and intriguing, and so will any reader in search of an uplifting and superbly written work.

Published by Sea Crow Press, An Eye for Joy is Peg Guilfoyle’s fourth book in a long trail of writing. Her book, The Guthrie Theater: Images, History, and Inside Stories (2006), won the Midwest Book Award, Independent Publisher’s Award. Her latest work should be in line for another slate of prestigious awards.

We know Peg and her husband, the inimitable “Doc” Baillie, from our kids’ school days at Mounds Park Academy. Peg was always one of those people whose boat seemed to be propelled by double high-powered motors, whereas everyone else was working with a single engine. She was heavily engaged with family, school, creative efforts, and community; a model citizen in the land of the common good. Now with her Eye for Joy, she has brought forth a powerful antidote for all that can drag a person to despair in these times of trouble.

I encourage you to buy this book without delay (www.pegguilfoyle.com) so that you too can savor Peg’s collection of written delicacies. They’ll make you smile and turn your gaze toward the “good” and “positive” in our world.

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© 2025 by Eric Nilsson