July’s Roads: Sacred Places, Difficult Books, and Stories Worth FindingHello, friends! July has been a slightly unusual month. I have wandered through sacred places, wrestled with ancient philosophers, revisited the documents that built a nation, finally finished a Russian novel that seemed determined to defeat me, and discovered an unexpected number of independently published books. At first glance, it all feels rather scattered. Looking back, however, I think July’s stories shared a common question: What deserves to be remembered? On the Back RoadsThis month at Take the Back Roads, I returned to several sacred places—and reconsidered what it means to continue wandering when the road itself begins to change. In Oklahoma City, Saint Joseph Old Cathedral has stood through the growth of a frontier city, the loss of its cathedral status, and the devastation of the 1995 bombing. It is a church marked by history but not trapped inside it: still serving its parish, still offering sanctuary, and still quietly enduring. Closer to home, I gathered together five pilgrimage sites within a day’s drive of Northwest Arkansas. A pilgrimage does not always require an overseas flight, a month of walking, or a complicated itinerary. Sometimes it simply means choosing a sacred destination, leaving the interstate behind, and beginning the drive with intention. The most personal piece I wrote this month was After Chronic Illness Changes the Road, the Stories Will Still Be Told. My health has forced me to reconsider what wandering may look like in the future. I may not always be able to reach stories in the same ways I once did, and I have realized that the journey was never the entire purpose. The stories I discovered were. Some are waiting in churches and forgotten buildings. Others are buried in archives, cemeteries, military records, family histories, and books without large publishers or publicity departments behind them. My work has always been, in one way or another, about noticing. Adventures in the LibraryOver at Rite of Fancy, July's reading took me everywhere from the founding of the United States to ancient China, Buddhist teachings, Russian family dysfunction, and several wonderfully unexpected corners of the independent publishing world. With America's 250th birthday approaching, I assembled 10 Foundational American Documents Worth Revisiting. These works are more than historical artifacts. They record the arguments, compromises, principles, and contradictions that shaped the country we inherited. For readers looking for something considerably less demanding, I also collected 10 Short Classic Books You Can Read in a Weekend. A book does not need to be enormous to leave behind an enormous idea. The Bucket List Book Adventure was especially philosophical this month. Book #473 was Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, an elusive little text about humility, restraint, leadership, simplicity, and learning when not to force the world into submission. Book #480 was the Kalama Sutta, a Buddhist discourse frequently reduced to a slogan about questioning authority but which offers a much more demanding lesson about discernment, experience, character, and the consequences of what we choose to believe. And after approximately three months of complaining, resisting, stopping, restarting, and wondering why anyone needed so many pages to describe one disastrous family, I finally completed Book #172: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I cannot claim that Dostoyevsky and I parted as friends, but the book gave me plenty to think and argue about. An Indie Reading AdventureSomething else unexpected has been happening at Rite of Fancy. Since opening the site more deliberately to independent and self-published authors, I have discovered an extraordinary variety of books: literary novels, strange speculative worlds, painfully honest examinations of addiction, coming-of-age stories, corporate nightmares, philosophical road trips, and books that resist every convenient category. Independent books can be unpredictable. That is part of the adventure. They do not always arrive with enormous marketing campaigns, bookstore displays, or hundreds of professional reviews. Often, they arrive because one writer spent years creating something and then bravely sent it into the world, hoping that someone would stop long enough to read it. Lately, that someone has been me. You really should visit Rite of Fancy and meet some of the independent authors I have discovered. Some of these books have surprised me, some have challenged me, and a few have been remarkably good. All of them represent someone taking the risk of telling a story. Stories of ServiceAt Everyday Patriot, July brought two collections about Americans whose public lives often overshadow the fact that they also served their country. 10 Founding Fathers Who Fought in the Revolutionary War looks beyond signatures, portraits, and political offices to the dangerous and often exhausting military service performed by men such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox, and Nathanael Greene. Then, in 10 Hollywood Stars Who Served in World War II, I explored the wartime service of familiar actors who temporarily stepped away from movie sets and television studios to become pilots, sailors, Marines, soldiers, instructors, mechanics, and combat veterans. Their fame came before or after the war, or sometimes both, but their military service deserves to be remembered on its own terms. Looking Toward AugustThere is no significant medical update to offer this month. The latest testing has ruled out my neck as the source of the problems in my arms, which is useful information even though it has not yet given us a complete answer. For now, I am continuing to work carefully, rest when necessary, and adjust the way I do things. August may also bring a small return to the road. Fish and I are going “camping,” although the word is being used rather generously. There will be no mummy bags, tiny dome tents, or heroic attempts to sleep directly on the ground. We are going glamping, with an air mattress, in a State Park, and a reasonable expectation of physical comfort. We may not have air conditioning, but we should at least emerge with our old bones intact. I hope the trip brings a few photographs, a story or two, and perhaps the reminder that an adventure does not have to be uncomfortable to count. Until next month, thank you for reading, following the strange collection of roads I travel, and helping these stories find their way into the world. Love always, — a.d. elliott Art and Other Odd Adventures ✨ #TakeTheBackRoads Enjoyed this newsletter? You can always explore more stories, support the journey, or simply keep the road open by visiting the site.
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