Welcome to
Sweet Soul Water™
We may not be able to fix the world, but we can refuse to stop seeing each other.
Sweet Soul Water is a visually inspired collection of photographs, reflections, and conversations about being human.
Through nature, we are invited to slow down, look again, and notice what might otherwise pass us by.
Some stories turn inward.
Others turn us toward each other.
Together, they explore hope, grief, gratitude, belonging, difference, companionship, justice, possibility, and what we choose to carry forward.
This is not a book meant to be rushed.
Begin at the beginning. Choose a story that meets the moment. Or simply open the book and see where you land.
The story ends where the conversation begins.
What does it mean
to be human?
To love and lose.
To hope and wonder.
To belong and sometimes feel alone.
To change. To remember. To begin again.
To need each other, even when we don't always understand each other.
Sweet Soul Water doesn't attempt to answer that question for you.
It invites you to become curious about it.
Don't expect Sweet Soul Water to tell you how to be human.
Expect it to make you a little more curious about how you already are.
There is
still light.
What if Seeing Each Other is Where We Begin?
A no can still contain respect.
A disagreement can still contain dignity.
A boundary can still contain kindness.
A transaction can become a relationship.
And a relationship doesn't have to begin with getting what we want.
Something beautiful happens
when we see each other.
PHOTOGRAPHS - REFLECTIONS - A MORE HUMAN TOMORROW
Come to the Table
Sweet Soul Water
is Making its Way Into the World
Join us for photographs, reflections, stories from behind the book, and first words when Sweet Soul Water is ready to be shared.
The People
Behind the Book
Photographer, Sterling Goodrich
Sterling sees what many of us pass by.
Through his lens, ordinary moments in nature become invitations to pause—light across water, birds in flight, a flower holding its season, a shoreline carrying traces of what has been there before.
His photographs form the visual foundation of Sweet Soul Water.
Narrator, Muriel Baptiste
Muriel brings story to what Sterling sees.
Through reflective writing and carefully chosen questions, she invites readers to look inward, notice each other, and explore what it means to live with greater intention, humanity, and hope.
Her guiding belief throughout the book is simple:
The story ends where the conversation begins.
Editor, Laurie Shoulter Karrall
Laurie helps shape and refine the written journey of Sweet Soul Water, supporting its clarity, rhythm, and cohesion while helping to preserve the voice at its center.
Made to Live Within Reach
On a coffee table.
At the center of a gathering.
Beside a chair where someone may open it alone.
Sweet Soul Water was created to be returned to—not simply read once and placed away.
Open anywhere.
Stay awhile.
Bring a question to the table.
A Human -Conversation Project
Sweet Soul Water is more than a book.
It is an invitation to notice more deeply, reflect more honestly, and enter meaningful conversations about what it means to be human.
Our Vision
We imagine a world where fewer people go unseen and more of us experience the connection and belonging that come from truly seeing one another.
Our Mission
Through photography, storytelling, reflection, questions, and shared experiences, Sweet Soul Water creates spaces where people can explore our common humanity without requiring sameness or agreement.
What We Believe
We may not be able to fix the world, but we can refuse to stop seeing each other.