Announcements: Bella Grace and Public Reading--Bonus Post

Announcement #1: The dazzling quarterly publication, Bella Grace, Life's A Beautiful Journey, has again published one of my essays. This essay, my third in Bella Grace, is called "The Sounds of Life," and, as always, is illustrated with evocative photographs. 

             








              

              
              I relish silence. I need silence and solitude. But
              I've learned the silence that nurtures me is a 
              back drop for the sounds of life. It is silence in 
              which I can hear my inner voice reminding me to
              love my life, a silence that is more of a preparation
              for the life around me than a retreat from it. It is
              the kind of silence in which I can hear light 
              sprinkles of rain on the skylights in my garret or
              the sound of a breeze urging fall leaves to let go. 
              It is the kind of silence that comes in the night when
              I hear my beloved breathing, sometimes heavily,
              beside me.

              The sounds of life. 

The June/July/August issue will be available soon at bookstores or newsstands or you can subscribe/order here.







Announcement #2: During the previous year I have been in a group called Author's Circle. Organized by Elizabeth Jarret Andrew, the group has met monthly to support each other in the writing life. 

On Tuesday, June 5 from 7-9:30 the writers in this group will be reading from works in progress, and you are invited. The event will be held at 2615 Park Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN.  https://www.facebook.com/events/416831295437677/permalink/428351497618990/

I plan to read from the spiritual memoir I am writing--possibly from the last chapter. Here's a sneak preview:

              "Where is home for you?" the perky warm-hearted
              facilitator of our new member group asks. We are 
              sitting in a circle in the large colonial-styled
              gathering room at church, a dozen of us. This is the 
              last of the new member orientation sessions. Eager to
              actually be a member, I wish I could bypass the "new
              girl" routine I have experienced many times in my 
              life.

              "Where is home for you?"

               I said I had moved a great deal as a child, and I
               complimented my parents on their ability to 
               quickly create home in each new house. I mentioned
               I had moved several times as an adult, too, and 
               ended by saying, "I love the process of creating
               home, of finding home, wherever I am."

               When it was Bruce's turn, he quietly and quickly 
               gestured toward me and said, "Nancy is my home."
               There was quiet in the room, almost a holy hush, 
               and then a collective group sigh. Such an open and
               expressive statement of love from someone of 
               Norwegian descent! Absorbing, treasuring the love
               expressed, I totally missed the responses from the
               rest of the group. 

It would be great to see you at this event. 

Hope you don't mind the extra post this week. I'll be back on Tuesday with something more reflective.