"Beautiful drawings and such meaningful words! Reading this book gives me a calming and serene feeling. There is an immediate sensation of being teleported to a spiritual realm. Yet what Hester and Nelson address are very down-to-earth matters of the everyday place. Connectedness of the common and the sacred, coupled with the essential interdependency of justice and space, are the core values that will resonate across time and culture."
—John K. C. Liu, Chairman of the Building and Planning Research Foundation, National Taiwan University

"In Inhabiting the Sacred in Everyday Life, Hester and Nelson seamlessly interweave profound reflections stemming from decades of hands-on work with remarkably accessible practical advice. The six steps and associated techniques the authors outline move readers through a process of collective learning, making, honoring, and inhabiting sacred places. This beautiful book is a meditation on what it means to belong to a place and to have a place belong to you."
—Kaitlin M. Murphy, Chair of the Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Graduate Interdisciplinary Program Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, and author of Mapping Memory: Visuality, Affect, and Embodied Politics in the Americas

"As an educator, scholar, and landscape architect, I am convinced that Inhabiting the Sacred in Everyday Life should be required reading for all students and practitioners in the environmental design fields. As readers follow Hester and Nelson's personal and communal journeys, they will learn how the best places should touch the heart, inspire contemplation, and teach the essential nature of interconnectedness."
—Daniel Nadenicek, Draper Chair in Landscape Architecture, University of Georgia, and author of Cultivating American Civilization: Frederick Billings and Nineteenth-century Landscape Improvement

"Hester and Nelson have produced a personal manifesto to challenge our way of seeing, thinking, and living. This book has value to citizen activists and seasoned designers who need to be reintroduced to the why of design. Poetic and filled with vivid stories and well-placed sketches, maps, and photos, Inhabiting the Sacred in Everyday Life is a must-read for anyone who cares about place."
—Rodney Swink, Past President of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Senior Associate for Planning and Development at PlaceEconomics

"In our technology-focused culture, the practice of being in and learning with your community is an underappreciated art. Inhabiting the Sacred in Everyday Life is at once a meditation on the power of place and a step-by-step guide to making thoughtful community change in your own neighborhood. Hester and Nelson break down their sophisticated approach to landscape architecture practice into six digestible steps that help designers, planners, and community leaders reconnect with the senses, work across differences, identify shared values, and organize collectively to make meaningful change. The book takes a humble, artful, and practical tone to the important work of community design and weaves design practice back into the sacred rituals of everyday life."
—Dr. Barbara Brown Wilson, Assistant Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia, and author of Resilience for All: Striving for Equity through Community-Driven Design

"Combining the wisdom of Randy Hester's decades-long study of sacred landscapes with a fresh look at the topic by Amber Nelson, this delightful and beautifully illustrated book should speak to every student in every design and planning program. In describing the techniques toward inhabiting the sacred, the authors also provide specifics on how to preserve those special places in our everyday landscapes and everyday lives."
—Linda Jewell, Professor Emerita of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, University of California, Berkeley, and Fellow of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture