When a book reflects the life of its reader
Some days, a single post can stay with you. Today a reader shared a photo of my Kintsugi book, and it had clearly traveled with her for a while. Its bent corners, its softened cover, its pages marked by time and use, all carried the quiet beauty of things that have lived.
The trace of time
It touched me deeply. As an author, of course, it is always moving to hear from someone on the other side of the world. But it resonated just as strongly with the reader in me. I have always loved books that bear the signs of life, the ones read on a train, forgotten in a bag, left on a bedside table, found between cushions, sometimes marked with the faint circle of a cup of tea. Books whose pages remember the moments they have shared with us.
Wabi sabi in everyday life
This, for me, is the spirit of wabi sabi. The beauty of what has lived, a beauty that grows with time, without artifice or disguise. A beauty that does not try to hide its history. And naturally it echoes Kintsugi, the golden repair that acknowledges our cracks and chooses to honor them rather than conceal them.
The quiet bond between my readers
As the book has traveled through twelve languages and messages have arrived from many places, I have noticed something very clear. Most readers who reach out share a common thread. They are resilient people.
Carrying more than they show
It may seem paradoxical. One might think that those who already know how to face adversity would not need a book on resilience. Yet they are often the ones others rely on. “You are so strong!”. “You are brave!” “You always manage!” “You always look on the bright side!” People rarely worry about them. They appear steady for everyone, sometimes carrying far more than they say.
Without losing sight of themselves
But those who hold so much for others often forget to care for themselves. They carry on, they absorb, they keep going… And their own cracks remain quiet, pushed aside.
Kintsugi becomes an invitation. A way to look again at what has been lived, to strengthen what needs to be acknowledged rather than hidden. A place where repair becomes a way to reconnect with oneself, without stepping aside from one’s own needs.
The KintsuGirls and KintsuGuys Club
This is why I cherish this play on words, KintsuGirls and KintsuGuys. It is not a slogan, more a gentle nod to all those who repair, learn and move forward, often quietly.
A quiet sign of recognition
There is no need for a membership card: you recognize it in the way someone looks at life, in the strength that comes from vulnerability, in the ability to keep walking despite the challenges. You belong to it the moment you decide to turn your fault lines into lines of strength.
The golden thread between us
Kintsugi is the golden thread that connects us. It reminds us that we do not walk alone and that we, too, have the right to rest and to care for ourselves.
