What I did on my summer vacation

I wrote a book  (or, to be more precise, one-fourth of a book)!

Daily Inspirations for Women: Seasons of a Woman’s Life is the title.  It’s a daily devotional for women, arranged by season (as you see reflected in the very clever cover design above).  Each day offers a quotation, a short reflection, and a related action — all geared towards helping women work a little spiritual nourishment into daily life.   You can pick it up and start it on any day of the year, any year.

What makes this book super-cool is that there are four authors, each focusing on one season.  Back when I first heard who the other three authors would be, I immediately started doing my happy dance, because they are Jessica Mesman Griffith, Vinita Hampton Wright, and Margaret Silf — all amazing women and beautiful writers.  I felt like a groupie who had just been asked to perform with her favorite band.

And what’s also unique is that the book takes its daily quotations from a variety of sources: the Bible and other spiritual writings, but also poetry, novels, proverbs, and other famous quotations.  (English teacher nerd that I am, I worked a little Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Austen, and Christina Rossetti into the Spring section.)   There are spiritual insights to be found all around us, even in ostensibly secular writings, and the book celebrates that.

Anyhow, I’m really excited and honored to have been a part of this project.  If you want to read more, check out the Loyola Press site about the book.  It’ll be available in November; I’ll let you know when it’s here!