How the Light Gets In: 10 Principles for Reclaiming Your Spirit—An Interview with author Angela Carole Brown

By Elizabeth Gracen:

Flapper Press continues to support writers, poets, musicians, filmmakers, and artists from around the globe by bringing attention to their work and their life stories. As always, we encourage those who are published on our site to keep us in the loop and submit their new work for consideration.

When we recently informed award-winning musician, poet, writer, and artist Angela Carole Brown that she was one of the Flapper Press nominees for the 2025 Best of the Net in Poetry, she shared news of her inspiring new book, How the Light Gets In:10 Principles For Reclaiming Your Spirit, published by Haiku House in February 2025.

In a world rife with tension and anxiety, Brown's book is just what the doctor ordered. You can pick up your copy on Amazon, listen to it on Audible, or visit her website to find out more about the author and the great work that she continues to create.

"How the Light Gets In . . . offers a practical guide of 10 principles to aid in taking care of our spirits, keeping sanity, serenity, and joy in our daily toolbox, living with greater authenticity, and staving off the harmful effects of the 'fight or flight' mechanism of a sympathetic nervous system in hyperdrive. This little book does not propose we shut our eyes on the world we live in, but that we cultivate stronger, more lasting practices with which to sanely take on our world, while maintaining crucial emotional and spiritual wellness through self-reflection, personal application, and joy agendas." — angelacarolebrown.com

Angela Carole Brown

Writer / musician / artist  Angela Carole Brown is the 2018 recipient of the North Street Book Prize in Literary Fiction for her novel Trading Fours and is the author of several books in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Shorter works and poetry appear in MacQueen’s Quinterly, Flapper Press Poetry Café, Thorny Locust, Echo’s Media Museum, Brilliant Corners, and the poetry anthology In the Black / In the Red. And in 2021, an entire concert by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Master Chorale was created around several of Angela’s flash fiction stories from her collection Aleatory on the Radio entitled "Short Stories." She writes the blog Bindi Girl Chronicles. 

Recently transplanted from Los Angeles to Kansas City, Angela is a veteran of the L.A. music scene, having spent nearly four decades there as a vocalist, songwriter, and recording artist, enjoyed a 25-years' residency at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, performed with her jazz ensemble at the legendary Playboy Jazz Festival, recorded several albums of music in the genres of jazz and folk, and has done jingles, soundtracks, and voiceovers for television and film. In 2024, Angela retired from singing by playing her farewell performance with The Orchestre Surreal, with whom she'd had a 28-year run as lead female vocalist. She is featured in the documentary film The Goddess Project.

As a visual artist, Angela’s current medium is alcohol ink on Yupo. In 2021, one of her inks made the cover of Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature. Her short, illustrated film, based on her story for children, The Richest Girl in the World, won Best Multimedia Film at the 2021/22 Buddha International Film Festival and the Indo Global International Film Festival, and People's Choice and Honorary Mention at DigiFest Temecula. 

Visit her website here: angelacarolebrown.com

I reached out to Angela to talk all things How the Light Gets In and what creative gifts she has planned for her next endeavor.

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Elizabeth Gracen: Angela, thank you so much for telling me about your new book, How the Light Gets In. I’ve always loved the Leonard Cohen song that inspired your title. It’s always helped me through challenging times, and now I have your book to help me as well. Congratulations on its publication, and thank you for wanting to help those in need in this beautiful/horrible world. Please tell our readers about the book—why you wrote it and what you hope they will come away with when they read it.

Angela Carole Brown: Yes, I love that song too and have sung it many times! Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for being willing to speak with me about the book. I’ve been so blessed by the movement and response of it since its release. One example—Stephen Rambo of the Center for Spiritual Living Simi Valley is actually conducting a 7-week study series of the book with his community. Just blows my mind to be embraced in that way. I wish I still lived in L.A. so I could witness it unfold in real time. 

How the Light Gets In, to be frank, is a huge departure for me. I’ve been writing my whole life, and for all of it I’ve been a fiction writer. And only in the last 10 years or so has poetry become an integral part of my life, and I know you’re familiar with some of my pieces. Again, feeling very blessed in this juncture. But a self-care book was never something I ever considered. And even though I’ve been around for a long time writing, I still live on the fringes of the book scene, yet it remains a deeply gratifying place to be because what anyone who’s lived their life in this country knows is that we have the freedom to express creatively, till the cows come home. 

We have that luscious playground in which to fulfill something in ourselves and offer it to others. And the current and stupefying threat of us possibly losing that privilege is actually what made me leap to write something like this. 

These are astonishing times, with our democratic republic being threatened, and blatant racism and domestic terrorism all acting as governance, and repeating history. And in wondering what I could offer this American life we’re presently living, other than voting, what I know is that we are better able to be of service to others and the greater cause if we make certain our own spirits and constitutions are strong, because these challenges we’re facing will crush us if we’re not fostering some level of emotional and spiritual balance, strength, and foundation. And that’s what How the Light Gets In tries to offer. I wrote an essay for my blog during lockdown in 2020 called “Spiritual Algorithm for this Age of Corona” that was 7 principles for spiritual wellness, and this book is basically an expansion, with slightly more unpacking of that original idea.

EG: You have practiced the spiritual life for quite some time. What has Buddhism, Taoism, metaphysics, yoga, and meditation taught you? And why have you chosen these paths?

ACB: Somewhere along the line in my life I graduated away from the traditional Baptist upbringing I was raised in, though I do continue to feel deeply connected to the culture. And I found myself moving toward Eastern thought. It resonated with me primarily because I just couldn’t get with this idea of focusing all my spiritual engine on a promised afterlife more than the exquisite one we’re living right now. So it’s the turning inward part that drew me in that direction. Self-investigating. Fostering non-attachment to things, outcomes, expectations. And getting quiet, so that more and deeper can be revealed and experienced right now, right here, in THIS life. I also have a relationship with the 12-Step program of recovery, which has healed, and is healing, a lot of pain in remarkable ways.

Angela Carole Brown

EG:  How does your work as an artist, writer, and poet align with your spiritual life?

ACB: Oh, it’s everything. I used to write to be understood. To some degree, I’m sure I still do, but more in this present time in my life, I write to understand. To ask questions. To expand my own limited thinking. If I “strut in” to some creative endeavor with a real chip and know-it-all-ness, instead of humility and wonder, it just won’t be good. I’ve thrown away much more than I’ve ever kept because my ego was just way too in charge. And ego is something I have to wrestle with every day. It just is. Which is why I have a spiritual practice.  And it’s a practice that I’d BETTER bring with me to anything I’m trying to create if it’s to stand a chance at being something of real value. 

EG: You are so right about the “fight and flight” reactions in our bodies and minds being on full alert these days. It’s hard to stay calm. Your book is brief, light in spirit, and easily put into everyday practice. How can the 10 principles you outline in the book help calm the hearts and spirits of those who read it?

ACB: It really is hard to stay calm, isn’t it? What I know is that our sympathetic nervous system starts to degrade our mental and physical health on the cellular level if we don’t take care of it. Stress is inevitable, and I actually hate to say that, because all I want, as someone with anxiety disorders, is to be rid of it.

But if we can find ways to effectively manage stress, get it to a place where it can be accessed for real dangers in our lives, and not just chronically ever-churning, then we stand a chance of actually having real quality of life.

And thank you so much for pointing out that the book is short, lighthearted, and easy. That was my entire intention. We’re in a place right now, I believe, of overwhelmed-ness, where if wellness measures feel burdensome and labor-intensive to even contemplate, we’re just not going to put in the time. Part of the purpose of the book is to be a respite or a tiny nugget of sanctuary. It is meant to be easy and inviting. That said, the principles actually range from lighthearted, fun, and nurturing (like reading for pleasure or letting yourself play and rest), to somewhat deeper diving for emotional repair and healing (like facing the idea of forgiveness). They’re all super simple principles in concept, which is the point. In practice, if there is a more challenging aspect that exists at all for a reader, it’s possible that some trauma has been tapped. 

We all have some level of history with trauma. It's just the price of being human and interacting with other humans. That trauma is what forms ego and fear, as protective armor, which we perceive as keeping us safe. 

I can tell you that those have been a huge challenge in my life, but when I’m practicing these principles regularly, I actually do experience a tamping down of those pesky little critters. It’s amazing to me how simple practices, pleasant practices (who doesn’t love hunkering down with a juicy book?), and healing practices, can truly set us free. Till, where the outside world in all its roiling cannot touch the serenity and balance inside of us. So, yes, back to your point, I wanted to design a book that was short, taut, simple, and even humorous and playful—something that wouldn’t feel daunting for someone to commit to and that a reader could access right away . . . because these are urgent times.

EG: Are there any particular teachers or gurus who have influenced you in a life-altering way?

ACB: Oh, yes, many wonderful teachers, both personal and the global ones I’ve never met.  My dear friend and Other Mother, Barbara Wright, who brought Buddhist thought into my life and through her a Theravadan Monk, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, whose meditation sits and discussions really shifted me, as far as gaining a clearer inkling of what we’re put here to do or to be. My high school dance teacher, Marilyn Allen, who gave me my first sensory experience of being in touch with the physical body as a spiritual vessel. My childhood piano teacher and church choir director, Carl Johnson, who singlehandedly gave me my love of music and by extension all of the arts, which have been the saviors in my life. My parents who gave me my love of books and encouraged me to be an artist when so many parents wouldn’t have. And in the greater world, Thich Nhat Hanh, Toni Morrison. This may sound wacky, but musicians Tom Waits, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, and, of course, Leonard Cohen; those who express the dark and the light of humanity and who rage with love and wield it as the only weapon. Oh, I could go on and on, and am probably missing some glaring ones, but yes, there are many who have changed my life in ways I’ll be eternally grateful for.

EG: After they read your book, where can people go to find out even more about living with the impermanence of life and how they can learn to live fruitful lives despite the chaos that surrounds us? 

ACB: If you mean other books that I might recommend, these are some I return to again and again: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts truly captures what there is to understand and even embrace about the impermanence of life. A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland, an experiment she conducted about a way of living. Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, who speaks to vulnerability like no one else I know. Sacred Contracts by Carolyn Myss, who definitely comes from the Joseph Campbell school of myth and archetypal symbology. Also, may I offer: 

Listen to music, dear reader. Visit museums. See live theatre or dance. Immerse yourself in the arts, of any nature, the lofty to the basement, as often as you can. It grounds us in humanity as we traverse this chaotic world.

EG: What else would you like to share about the book, your work, the world?

ACB: Well, first, that I would never propose we shut our eyes on the world we live in; only that we cultivate stronger, more lasting practices with which to sanely take on this current world.

I like to say that your radiant life is already in progress; this book and its principles are merely meant to augment it, perhaps sweeten it a bit. We can get so heavy and bogged down. Find ways to stay lightened even while fighting the good fight. It will serve you better than the heavy boulder of burden. 

And lastly, that I’m not an expert on anything. I am a willing and imperfect student. All I have to offer, as is said in 12-Step, is my experience, strength, and hope. My own experience of what these principles do for me when I practice them, whatever strength I gain from them, and an eternal hope, always, for a better world and a better me.

EG: Thanks so much for sharing this with us. Please tell us what is next for you? What artful creation is on the horizon? 

ACB:  Ahhhh, well, first of all, thank YOU. I so appreciate a conversation on this book. So, two things are currently brewing. I’ve actually just written my first play that hopefully will be produced next year, fingers crossed! It's about a man experiencing his midlife crisis in trying to decipher if the true meaning in his life is the cerebral or the visceral. Central Standard Theatre, in Kansas City, where I currently live, is planning on producing it, and I’m excited about that, and we will see! I also have a novel manuscript that’s presently making the submission rounds.  The book is about a young girl who considers herself “otherly,” who comes of age in 1970 in Compton, California (where I grew up). It's a story of survival and an exploration into how trauma shapes us. Anyway, thank you again, Elizabeth, for giving my little book this platform. The work Flapper Press does is beautiful. 

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Elizabeth Gracen is the owner of Flapper Press & Flapper Films.