Disclosed: ‘five ways of being’
Sharing the Light: Stories and Reflections
by Monique Gray Smith
Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2026
$26.99 / 9781487013547
Reviewed by Jazmine Roberts
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Emotionally intimate and enduringly hopeful, Sharing The Light reads like a Swiss army knife of spiritually healing, vibrationally nourishing teachings, tools, and practices.
Written within its pages are reflective questions posed to the reader, grounding mantras and positive affirmations, gentle words of advice, mindfulness, and—my personal favourite when in need of spiritual connection—raw, personal testimony delivered through the format of a story.
Written as a collection of vignettes, southern Vancouver Island resident Monique Gray Smith (Dreaming Alongside) guides her reader through an episodic retelling of the defining moments in her life that she considers to have had significant impacts on her spirit, whether they were positive… or negative.
In the preface, titled “Tawâw,” which means “welcome” in Cree as well as “there is always room,” Smith details her own experiences of when her light has shone, when it has dimmed, when it has been fuelled by friends and loved ones, strangers even, and, of course, when she has shared her light with others.
One of the most refreshing aspects of “Tawâw” is the fact that darkness is immediately acknowledged as an inevitable part of life. Moments of grief, hopelessness, despair are all inherent to the human experience. Smith recounts a time where she experienced compounded loss in her life: the death of her mother after a battle with dementia, the end of a friendship, and her wife Rhonda’s cancer diagnosis.
While Smith allows the darkness to sit with the reader, she ensures she provides some light as well. “It’s hard to believe all of that happened in just four months,” Gray remarks. “Sometimes, I wonder how I’m still standing. And then I remember: every single day, I have had to consciously foster my own light and be open to receiving light.” Perhaps this is where Tawâw’s alternative meaning comes into play: “there is always room.” Here, is where the first seed of glorious hope is planted, the first ray of light shared, setting the tone for Sharing The Light.
Finding and maintaining light is not always an easy feat, as Smith highlights. “Some days I feel like my hope is only in the cuticle of my pinky toe.” But what she depicts from her grief is the vision of a phoenix rising from the ashes. By sharing her powerful tale of resiliency with others, she proves that light in times of darkness is possible. It starts with you and the decision to allow light into your own life. The author empowers us by teasing out a shining thread of hope that lives within the dark swath of the unthinkable.
She divides Sharing the Light into five chapters, which mirror what Smith calls “the five ways of being”: gratitude, love, joy, happiness, and hope. Viewing them as life practices that “nourish our spirits and foster light within us,” Gray writes about moments in her life associated with each one.
“Gratitude” encourages the reader to look for blessings amidst the mundane, or even amidst the darker moments in life. To keep oneself open to, and cognizant of gifts that the universe has to offer. Smith describes a sacred childhood memory to the reader: a nightly routine between her and her mom. After tucking her into bed for the night, her mom would always ask, “What was the best part of your day?” Without even realizing it, she had instilled within her daughter a mindfulness practice she would carry with her into adulthood, a practice that Smith encourages us all to partake in.
Gratitude, here, takes the form of personal reflection, being able to articulate the positive aspects of your day, even when you may have had a crummy one. Smith imparts a key lesson, a vital, therapeutic step to generating light in your life: when you exercise gratitude, blessings reveal themselves, and light is sure to follow.
“Love” emphasizes the importance of maintaining connection with people in your life, letting yourself be loved when you feel like you least deserve it, so that you can keep yourself tethered in times of tumult and upheaval. During a time of darkness in Smith’s life, her struggle with alcoholism, she recounts a pivotal moment where an unadulterated extension of love and empathy—an intervention of kindness from her dear friend Kelly—broke her free from a toxic cycle. “There was no judgment in her eyes,” Smith says, “just love—the opposite of what I felt for myself.” An exemplary portrayal of being understood, being loved, Smith underscores the pain of being honest with oneself, but reveals the healing that can follow when someone selflessly shares their light, and just how illuminating and empowering that light can be.
Gray’s “Joy” poignantly demystifies the common understanding of joy as an emotion only suitable for moments of grandeur. Instead, Smith narrows in on the little things. Brief moments that, if we are not careful, might be overlooked, left unappreciated. Something as small as the feeling of cool metal against her hot skin after hiking to the laundromat with a sack full of clothes in summer is a moment of joy for Smith. She recounts a more sombre story of her father, in hospice with cancer, enjoying a mouthful of his favourite treat, which he had recently dreamt about, during one of his final days: chocolate ice cream. Perhaps the most paradoxical depiction of joy, this story of raw heartache gets to the crux of the message: joy is found in simple pleasures. It exists wherever you choose to find it.
“Happiness” touches on gratitude, love, and joy all at once. Smith describes how her experience of performing public readings of her book My Heart Fills with Happiness has allowed her to hear from children about what brings them happiness. She notes how, despite some of their answers appearing materialistic, all their responses still involve engaging with people they love. Through this story, she reminds us to be grateful for these moments of happiness by inviting us to “pay attention” to the people, the animals, the living beings that surround us—because that is where happiness is born. Time spent together is when memories are made, when connections are strengthened, and connection is a fortifying thing.
Lastly, “Hope” acts as the pinnacle that inspires readers to forge light through one’s own unyielding perseverance. Smith uses the analogy of a star and how they “generate light from within. They don’t need any other source to burn brightly.” She encourages us to be the star. To source our own light, or at least fan the flame when hope is nothing but a smouldering coal.
By bravely baring her soul in the pages of her book—an honest portrayal that gets to the heart of what it means to embody positive vibrations—Monique Gray Smith equips her readers with the tools to radiate in a world that often seems to work at tamping out the light. But perhaps the most empowering truth she underscores is the fact that these tools are ones that each of us already possess. Smith only selflessly shares her light so that we, the readers, can sift through the darkness to find them.
[Editor’s note: Over March, Monique Gray Smith has speaking engagements in support of Sharing the Light in Nanaimo, Duncan, Parksville, and Gabriola Island. Check out her schedule here.]
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Jazmine Roberts is in her final year as an undergraduate student studying English at Thompson Rivers University. Fuelled with a life-long passion for writing, she has written too many poems and stories to count, and she aspires to be a published author. When not writing, Jazmine spends her time reading, hiking, watching movies with family, collecting antique books, and eating good food. [Editor’s note: The review of Sharing the Light is Jazmine’s inaugural review for BCR. We’re pleased to publish her work.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors: Trevor Marc Hughes (nonfiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
“Only connect.” – E.M. Forster