Episode 34: Human(Kind) with Ashlee Eiland
Today’s episode is full of laughter, stories, and honest reflection. Which is our favorite combination!
We have the beautiful and eloquent Ashlee Eiland with us. She is the author of Human(Kind): How Reclaiming Human Worth and Embracing Radical Kindness Will Bring Us Back Together (WaterBrook; 4/7/20). In her book, advocate Ashlee Eiland shares her compelling story of being a black woman living on two sides of the fence: as the token black girl in majority-white spaces and as the “whitewashed” black girl in majority-black spaces. As she discovers her own unique worth through these recollections, Eiland learns that extending radical kindness toward every person—regardless of social status, political views, or religious beliefs—gives each person hope and rekindles a common humanity and dignity.”
“Ashlee is an elegant and intelligent writer, an eloquent and passionate communicator, and a brave and kind voice in our community. I’m thrilled that she’s sharing her own story and her prophetic vision for what connection might really mean. Ashlee teaches me by example how to live with courage and compassion, and I believe her perspective and voice will be deeply meaningful to so many people.”
—Shauna Niequist, New York Times best-selling author
“(Ashlee) is a holy, mysterious, beautiful creation who has a sacred glow in the deepest part of her, a divine ‘yes’ right at the center. And discovering this is the core call of this book—to move beyond the categories and limitations we put on each other and even the ones we put on ourselves. To uncover the longings, the divine invitation, the sacred image in one another. To uproot buried hopes and possibilities and nurse them back to life—using kindness as a potent remedy. Resurrection power is found in the simple truth that kindness might just be able to bring us all back to life.”
—Danielle Strickland, author, speaker, and social justice advocate (From the Foreword)
“In her tenderly written book, Ashlee draws on a range of personal experiences to explore how life fashions identity. She reflects on big themes, from the love of family to the brutality of racism and the search for belonging, and calls us to greater awareness of the stories and systems still shaping our lives and communities. Through her deeply personal words, Ashlee leads us toward a grace-filled vision of humanity in which we see the imago Dei in ourselves and one another and live it in the everyday. ‘Human(Kind)’ indeed.”
—Jo Saxton, Leadership coach and author of The Dream of You
Ashlee Eiland serves as the formation and preaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church. She shares God’s message of redemption and reconciliation at conferences, colleges, and events around the country. She began her professional career working for Nestlé USA and left corporate America to pursue full-time vocational ministry. Ashlee earned a BA in international relations from the University of Southern California and completed her master’s in organizational leadership at Judson University. Ashlee and her husband, Delwin, have three children and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Visit her online at
https://www.instagram.com/ashlee_eiland
https://twitter.com/Ashlee_Eiland
Ashlee is available to talk on:
How she has grown in understanding as she has learned to listen to others’ stories and perspectives
How we can use kindness and empathy to overcome the relational frustrations of social distancing
Practical ways we can offer grace, kindness and empathy to others
What the most unexpected and unlikely friendships—even those she has had with those that are her total opposites—have taught her
What needs to be sacrificed for us to see the power of kindness on display
Why in the world that she’s now committed to “wading knee deep into the muck of dissention and division and discord”
The importance of how we define “friend” and what this means for how we can dignify complete strangers
How she learned that dignity and hope have a greater weight than humiliation’s sting