We’ve all heard about the curse of the boyfriend sweater. Well, Alanna Okun has written a collection of essays on crafting—knitting and crocheting— that are titled with that expression. But her essays are about much more than the boyfriend sweater, namely how to quiet the voices of self-criticism that may be yammering away inside your head and address life’s obstacles.

What becomes evident as you read Okun’s essays is they are filled with metaphors that reveal the role crafting can play in one’s life. It helps to keep us in touch with our ability, not to just be creative, but to solve the problems that life presents. Or it connects us to others, like a stranger knitting in public or the world-wide community of makers available to us via the internet.

So, pick up this book, enjoy Okun’s moving vignettes, and perhaps you’ll break a few curses of your own.