Hello friends. Welcome to my home site! I look forward to connecting more with you through my Soul Space Stories monthly newsletter. Click HERE to receive encouragement delivered directly to your inbox!
It’s been a time of celebration here in Spokane, Washington since the first edition of Soul Space arrived. The sheer beauty of The Hearth and gardens came alive through the remarkable talents of Barbara Genetin, a graphic artist from California. I’m so grateful for our three year collaboration!
Years ago, environmentalist John Muir said,
Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
John Muir
His wisdom captures the healing beauty we hope Soul Space conveys to readers.
Resilience
I have a long interest and astonishment at the strength of perseverance and resilience that people demonstrate in difficult times. My earlier book Bold Spirit: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk across Victorian America, originally researched for my Ph.D. from Gonzaga University, narrates the true story of a mother and daughter who walked across America in 1896. Drawn by a potential $10,000 wager, she wanted to save the family farm for their nine children during a major depression. Her audacious journey is filled with courage and creativity, tragedy, and the silencing of family stories.
Then, for several years, I interviewed mothers and fathers for my book Pilgrimage through Loss and shared their stories of strength, resilience and healing after the death of their child. Listening to how they endured one of life’s most “shipwreck” experiences, they taught me much about the ways life can still unfold with meaning and connection after profound loss. Clearly a gift after Krista’s death.
Each month, I will offer the newsletter Soul Space Stories. This will share my ongoing explorations of living with sheer wonder at the moments of life that feeds our soul. It will include discoveries on creating a bold-spirited life, wisdom voices, gardening pleasures and tips, book recommendations (as a retired English professor, can’t resist sharing treasured stories), Hearth recipes and global art works. Occasionally, it will include thoughts on living again through cancer treatments. My hope is that these reflections encourage readers during times in America and our world that are often corrosive to the human spirit.
Proof of living with hope? I’m an irrational Seattle Mariners fan! Plus, I continue to plant peach trees (now on our fourth) in our cold climate zone, because nothing compares to the taste of a sun-ripened peach directly picked from our tree. Some seasons they even survive and thrive!
Looking forward to your visits!
Linda
