Aspen couple wins book award following wife’s passing

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect additional information about the “topics” and wisdom provided in the book.

Local Aspen couple Carolyn and Gary Gleason won a Nautilus Award in gift and specialty books last month for their book “Meeting Your Magnificence: 111 Ways to Live from Your Higher Self.”

The book takes the form of 111 pieces of life advice that Gary described as “topics” — each one page —that includes advice and exercises from the authors, and quotes from someone who is knowledgeable about that particular topic. The “topics” point readers on how to live from their “higher, wiser selves.” The book also includes photos from both him and Carolyn of flower that he notes brings in a “nature connection.”

The book also pairs with an oracle card deck for readers who might have a shorter attention span.

“When we were on a river trip … we found that four paragraphs was beyond the attention span of a boat captain, so we had this great idea to do the oracle card deck,” Gary said.

Carolyn passed away in a bicycle accident only a couple days after the publisher signed off on releasing the book — she never got to see the finished product. Gary noted, however, that the book is his wife’s “living legacy” and that the Nautilus Award was the one they had been most hoping to receive.

“It’s something that we were really proud of,” he said. “She never saw the finished product, but it’s a beautiful book.”

The book is available at True Nature in Carbondale and Carl’s Pharmacy in Aspen.