Steve Piacente

Jan 11, 2024 | shepherd.com | Steve Piacente |Fredrik Backman |Annie Proulx |Laura Hillenbrand

You could describe Fredrik Backman’s Beartown as the story of a broken Swedish forest town whose fate is tied to the success of a kids’ hockey team. This is accurate but woefully incomplete. In fact, I’m confident you’ll feel all the anger, empathy, and tenderness Backman has woven into a sports story that transcends pucks and goals. You will be ushered forward and backward in time. You’ll feel carried ahead even as the author freezes moments that deliver depth and perspective.

Dec 18, 2023 | wordsprof.medium.com | Steve Piacente

It’s easy to settle into old patterns, accept things as they come, and — usually with a shrug — decide that good enough is good enough. As a communications consultant and life coach, I always advise clients to grow and expand, increase their range, and get that great idea they’ve had forever out of their head and onto the table. Do I take my own advice? Not always, but this time I did. Those who know me know I’ve been a hobby photographer forever.

May 18, 2023 | wordsprof.medium.com | Steve Piacente

If everyone we meet is both student and teacher - a provocative tenet taught in the iPEC life-coaching program - then our instructors include our kids and their kids. But can that be true? It can. Think of the questions these little humans ask, like, "Where do dreams come from?" One of the first things kids teach parents is humility. We learn that we don't have all the answers. And that it's okay to admit we don't know something.