Cheryl Grey Bostrom's Blog, page 14

What People Are Saying (about Sugar Birds)

After five years of gestation, Sugar Birds‘s delivery date is a mere five weeks away.

Five weeks. Whew.

For those of you who’ve ever been involved in book launches, you know that during the pre-release phase, marketing ramps up. Marketing teams, publicists, and publishers kick into high gear, and they want their authors to do the same . . . to help get the word out about the book.

Quite a production, book launching . . . a buzzy world of promotions that I find more than a little disorienting and unsettling. How much better to go camping in the woods? Isn’t it enough for readers to simply tell others about the book? You know . . . good old word-of-mouth advertising?

In recent weeks, I’ve seen that it’s alive and well. Word-of mouth, that is.

Here are some advance readers’ words, and I’m thankful beyond words. They’ve been talking about Sugar Birds on GoodReads. You can read their full reviews HERE.

MEANWHILE, HERE ARE SOME EXCERPTS:

“A powerful new voice in literary fiction! Brilliantly imagined . . . beautifully written.”

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“This book will take readers where they’ve never been before. I plumbed my own depths as I followed Aggie and Celia through physical and emotional hinterlands of spirituality, pain, guilt, and redemption.”

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“Wow! Bostrom knocked it out of the park. Sugar Birds is a marvelous story w/ nature scenes and beautiful writing that bring Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing to mind.”

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“From the opening paragraphs to the final lines, Bostrom’s story shines with language that is breathtakingly fresh.”

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“Cheryl does a beautiful job of drawing us deeper into understanding family, loss, survival, and how to rebuild our lives after tragedy.”

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“I loved that Bostrom touches on mental illness, marital struggles, and abusive behavior in a way that could be a safe entry for conversation for someone who is struggling.”

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“Heartfelt storytelling at its best . . . a harrowing journey through human weaknesses to hope and mercy.”

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“This book brings a glimpse of the importance of the outdoors to children’s development and indeed, to their very souls.”

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“A riveting story with beautifully drawn characters . . . I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”

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“If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love Sugar Birds.”

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“A page-turner that stays embedded in your soul for a welcomed long while.”

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“I loved this book and can’t wait to tell everyone about it.”

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“Reminded me of the classic, My Side of the Mountain. Sugar Birds is one of those rare books that appeal to every age; full of depth, pages that turn quickly, and most of all, ebullient truth.”

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“Bostrom’s voice reminds me of Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing and Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.”

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“Sugar Birds is the best book I have read in ages, and is a book for all ages.”

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“Bostrom weaves together tragedy, survival, mystery, and redemption in a way that will have you wanting to read more.”

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“This was such a beautiful book. It’s literary fiction with a really well-crafted plot . . . reminded me of Peter Heller and Leif Enger, two of my favorites. Just really, really beautiful.”

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“Sugar Birds is, quite simply, an astonishing tour de force as a debut novel . . . Cheryl Bostrom is a writer of prodigious talent . . . I will recommend Sugar Birds to everyone I know!”

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“This book captivated me from the first paragraph, the first sentence even . . . The language is full and rich, a masterpiece of literary devices . . . It’s a book I’ll think about for a long time!“

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“Beyond the rich setting and endearing characters, Sugar Birds contains some beautiful, surprising moments that attest to Bostrom’s skill as a writer, an observer and naturalist not just of the natural world, but of the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of human animals that, woven together, craft a great story.”

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“Fascinating characters . . . how quickly I fell in love with each of them.”

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“Protagonist Agate [is] as uniquely powerful as The Hunger Games’s Katniss.“

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“Cheryl has insights into human nature as well as nature itself . . . Once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down.”

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“I LOVED this book! Gripping, full of raw and relatable human spirit. I was swept into this beautiful setting and storyline and I didn’t want to leave. This was better than many best sellers I’ve read.”

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“A well-paced, dramatic story of resilience and redemption with memorable characters. If you love nature, layered themes, and concise writing, you will enjoy this rich, well-crafted novel.”

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“One of the most thoughtful reads I have had in a long time. I could not put it down!”

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“Having adopted special needs children, [I recognize how] Bostrom created a work of art in her character of Burnaby, [with] sensitivity and understanding of his character . . . I was brought to tears . . . This book touched my soul.”

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“Feelings, fears and motivations that are as keenly observed and beautifully rendered as is the natural world [that] Bostrom depicts as flawlessly as did Guterson in Snow Falling on Cedars.”

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“This page turner will cause you to forget the laundry, meal prep, yard work and the necessary chores of life until you reach the last page.”

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“I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read twice back to back. Sugar Birds is one of them . . . It’s a beautifully written story about hope and forgiveness, but most of all it’s about love.”

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“Themes of guilt, sorrow, loss and the wonder of nature abound as the author skillfully pulls the reader and Aggie through despair toward hope, forgiveness and redemption. Found it hard to put down!”

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“A delicious page-turner.”

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“Sugar Birds is the Pacific Northwest’s best offering of an equivalent to Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing. Believe me–it’s just as good, if not better.” 

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To God be the glory. I’m grateful.

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And now, in posted pics from a punny sort of week . . .

I’m lichen you already, summer.

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Lettuce eat lettuce eat lettuce.

“Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.”

—Daniel 1:12

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A berry long run.

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— GIVEAWAY—GIVEAWAY—GIVEAWAY !!! To celebrate SUGAR BIRDS upcoming (August 3) release, Goodreads is giving away 10 copies! Click HERE to enter.

SUGAR BIRDS: the harrowing, tender account of young Aggie, who lights a terrible fire and hides in a Pacific Northwest forest, evading those who must bring her home before wilderness claims them all. A riveting story about trust and the search for forgiveness.

Thanks for reading friends. I’m so very glad you’re here!

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

PrayerWalk: The Audiobook, Reviewed

When Sugar Birds was only a fledgling story, I found myself in California with a cohort of fiction writers: six of us huddled around a cabin’s kitchen table at the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference, dissecting each other’s manuscripts. One woman in our group caught my attention within minutes of our first session together. Not only did the droll redhead and her husband ranch in the Sierra Valley (we had CATTLE in common), but she taught high school English, as had I.

Soon I connected with her on a deeper level. This woman had, personally and on behalf of others, traveled with the living God through the valley of the shadow of death—and had emerged seasoned with wisdom, humility, optimism. No surprise that I hung on her every word.

Only later did I learn that my new colleague Janet Holm McHenry—an award-winning national speaker and writer—had authored twenty-four books, including the bestseller PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline, a book that has been inspiring readers for over twenty years.

And now that bestseller is an AUDIOBOOK! I listened to it this week . . . as I walked the hilly, rural miles around our home. I loved walking with her voice in my ears. Loved walking with Janet—an extraordinary (yet ordinary), friendly, funny woman with aches, pains, and an over-filled schedule— who trusts God to get her out the door to spend time with Him.

Whether you’re new to lacing up your runners or are a long time hiker, if you’d like to develop a more meaningful and consistent prayer life, this recording of Janet’s long-tested words will guide you farther down the road, literally and spiritually.

A handbook of sorts, PrayerWalk offers a rationale and a how-to for walking several times each week while we commune with God and relinquish personal, family, and community needs into his care. For gaining a front-row seat to transformed lives as we, by praying, cooperate in God’s healing, life-changing intervention.

It’s a practical, inspiring recording. I can sure see why the book’s remained relevant all these years.

An added plus? Lives radically shaped by prayerwalking include our own. From physical health benefits to the more enduring gains of spiritual sturdiness, you and I will be changed as we walk and pray—if only we will.

Janet seemed to read my mind, when my “but what if . . .,” and “but I can’t” collided with her suggestions. She responded with humor and wisdom, exposing my doubts and the reasons behind them, then showing me how to jump (or sidestep) those hurdles.

You’ll think she’s read yours, too, since her guidance for your very own prayerwalk will be spot-on, whether you’re out-of-shape and doubting, busy and self-sufficient, or somewhere in between.

Winged sunlight

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Steepening . . . the deeper we went into Hells Canyon.

Steepening #2

Steepening #3

Steepening #4

“The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.”

—Psalm 104:8

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Pulse.

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“Teach us to number our days,that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

—Psalm 90:12

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Seen while prayerwalking: Plugnacious.

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And available August 3 . . .

Preorder HERE!

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Thanks for walking my thoughts with me, friends. So glad you stopped by.

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Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

OF Poems and Rocks

Most mornings, coffee in hand, I open Emily Gibson’s essays and nature photography in Barnstorming: Seeking Sanctuary in the Seasons of a Rural Life. I’ve followed and enjoyed her beautiful, reflective blog for years. So when I heard that she and Whidbey Island poet Lois Parker Edstrom had recently collaborated on a book of ekphrastic poetry, I ordered it before my next meal.

The book arrived a few days ago, and I’ve been keeping company with Almanac of Quiet Days ever since.

It’s a tender book. A peaceful one. And if the term “ekphrastic poetry,” has you scratching your head, let me add that, true to form, these ekphrastic poems draw from literal elements in Emily’s photos and then muse about them, expanding each photo’s potential interpretation. In these pieces, poet Lois comments on time and personal history; rural life and the natural world; relationships, beauty, awe—subjects photographer Emily regularly considers. A perfect poetry form to bring this photographer and this poet together.

You’ll find no dense, cryptic language here. Ms. Edstrom’s straightforward observations make her poems accessible and thought-provoking, even for those who typically dodge other forms of poetry. Their wide appeal, I suspect, led Garrison Keillor to read some of her earlier work on The Writer’s Almanac. Her poems are simple without being simplistic, and they’re peppered with turns of phrase that I found myself repeating and savoring:

“. . . the twine of possibilities. Tug a frayed edge, your life tumbles out.”

“. . . birds tuck their songs into the case of a wing.”

” . . . a filigree of dewdrops. . .”

“. . . black-tipped wings played chromatic scales in octaves of sky. . .”

“. . . wind will page through a catalog of leaves.”

If you’ve ever considered dipping your toes in poetry, spend some time with this book. The water’s warm.

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And now for the rocks . . . pics posted earlier this week, most of the craggy Snake River canyon, taken from offshore.

Family outing.

(Rocky Mt bighorn sheep – Hells Canyon)

“He enables me to tread on the heights.”

—Habakkuk 3:19

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Lost in translation.

(Petroglyphs, Hells Canyon, ID).”

You are a letter from Christ . . . written . . . with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

—2 Corinthians 3:3

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Volcano Art . . . or a music box drum.

(Snake River basalt).

“Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”

—Luke 19:40 AMP

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Waiting for goslings.

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And coming your way August 3 . . .

Welcome friends. So glad you’re here!

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Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

When Gratitude Calls

Eleven days, camping. Eleven days with friends, biking triple digit miles—some of them in triple digit heat. Eleven days of the very best sort.

Home now,

to mow our jungle lawn,

to arrest a weedy garden takeover,

to wash clothes,

to catch up, catch up, catch up.

To come around the corner of our house and find a glorious riot of roses, peonies, lavender

(mere buds when we left)

all blooming now.

Right now.

Unpacking can wait.

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Here are a few photos I snagged from the trip and posted earlier this week. (More to come :).

I count 15. (Way to go, parents. )

What’s the biggest brood you’ve seen survive this far?

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

—Luke 1:37

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We’ve been camping along the Snake this week—keeping company with those the river nourishes.

Like yesterday: honkers.

Today: ospreys.

(Always: us :).

When the river feeds you . . .

“So everything will live where the river goes.”—Ezekiel 47:9

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Snake River Purse Seiners.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.”

—Matthew 13:47

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Venting?

“Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.”

—Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT

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Wishing you gratitude and peace this week, no matter how much catching up you have to do.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Birds of a Feather

Sugar Birds? They aren’t what you think. Lots of wild guesses out there though. And it’s sure fun to hear the buzz building about the book. I’m delighted that it’s up for a number of awards, which will be announced in coming months.

Advance readers from across the USA—and of differing ages, faiths, ethnicities, life experiences, and genders—are reading Sugar Birds now. A few have finished the novel, and have begun posting their reviews. Interested? Take a look HERE on GoodReads.

In a scant two months, you can read it too. The book releases August 3 in paper, ebook and audiobook formats.

If you’d like to preorder the novel, you’ll find it at bookstores most anywhere , but if you like real books with paper pages, local indie bookstores like Village Books are a great place to buy. Barnes and Noble also offers an e-book preorder for its Nook, as does Amazon for Kindle.

And the audiobook, narrated by the award-winning Jayne Entwistle, is now on presale at Google Play! (It’ll show up later on Audible and a few dozen other audiobook sites, as well.)

No matter where you find yourself browsing, I hope you bring Sugar Birds home.

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Sugar Birds: A Novel

NW Washington State, 1985

For years, Harris Hayes has taught his daughter, Aggie, the ways of the northern woods. So when her mother’s depression worsens, Harris shows the girl how to find and sketch the nests of wild birds as an antidote to sadness. Aggie is in a tree far overhead when her unpredictable mother spots her and forbids her to climb. Angry, the ten-year-old accidentally lights a tragic fire, then flees downriver. She lands her boat near untamed forest, where she hides among the trees and creatures she considers her only friends—determined to remain undiscovered.

A search party gathers by Aggie’s empty boat hours after Celia, fresh off the plane from Houston, arrives at her grandmother’s nearby farm. Hurting from her parents’ breakup, she also plans to run. But when she joins the hunt for Aggie, she meets two irresistible young men who compel her to stay. One is autistic; the other, dangerous.

Perfect for fans The Scent Keeper, The Snow Child, and The Great Alone, Sugar Birds immerses readers in a layered, evocative coming-of-age story set in the breathtaking natural world where characters encounter the mending power of forgiveness—for themselves and for those who have failed them.

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And in posts earlier this week . . .

Rare appearance of PNW Giant Gophers.

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Because it’s about more than plowing.

(80th International Plowing Match, Lynden WA – May 2021)

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In the crook of His arm.

“Surely He will deliver you . . . He will cover you with His feathers; under his wings you will find refuge.”

—Psalm 91:4

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Birds of a Feather?

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Thanks for joining me, friends. So glad you stopped by.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

The Moon is Always Round

On the dedication page of The Moon is Always Round, author Jonathan Gibson writes,

“Ben,

Whatever happens in life, remember:

The moon is round.

The moon is always round.

I love you,

Dad”

And so begins a little children’s book about the moon’s constancy, even when its face is obscured by darkness. Through his mother’s pregnancy, a boy notices the lunar phases, little realizing that when his sister is stillborn, that same moon will illustrate truth about God’s nearness and comfort, even in suffering.

This book is a gem for anyone who has lost someone. For anyone who’s hurting.

For anyone.

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And some scenes from earlier this week:

When morning is candy.

“Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

—Psalm 139:14

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Leaving the nest . . . some kids can’t wait to jump.

Garden orb weaver spiderlings, dusk dispersal.

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Straight out of Sugar Birds:

“And the robins’ eggs? Those tiny blue orbs snugged into mud cups like pieces of sky. Aggie savored the hope in them, had captured it in her sketchbook. Wished she could stay in egg season forever.”

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May you always know the shape of the moon, friends.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

After Mother’s Day: The Girl in the Red Boots, reviewed

Mother’s Day: a week ago now, but for some of us, the bittersweet holiday evokes feelings ranging from ambivalence and distance to anger and sorrow. Year after year, on the holiday meant to celebrate our mamas’ wonderfulness, a raft of emotions can instead make the day anywhere from angsty to impossible.

True for you? If so, The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace With My Mother may loosen your feet from emotional muck and change your next Mother’s Day for the better.

In this engaging memoir, psychologist Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD draws from her extensive experience working with moms and daughters who deeply need peace with one another—and who are embroiled in eating disorders. She also taps a lifetime of memories with her own challenging mother.

I must say that the author’s personal vulnerability, self-awareness, and deep (albeit imperfect) love make this book.

Make this book what?

Well, they make it wonderful. Rabinor’s candid self-disclosure and humility encourage relationship growth. Encourage each reader to exchange her “I love my mother, but . . .” attitude for an honest look at one’s own blind spots. Encourage every reader to say this about her mother-daughter relationship (and indeed about all relationships between human beings):

“Imperfect love has to be good enough, because imperfect love is all there is.”

To find peace in that reality.

Without inducing guilt over past relationship failures, she challenges readers to examine their own mother-daughter dynamics. To “recognize the longings behind their complaints.” By offering her own story, Rabinor gives her readers an example of how to grow in their own self-forgiveness and in empathy for mothers who wounded them. Her account is a courageous, thought provoking look at her story’s dark side. But it’s also tender and intimate. Heart-softening and soft-handed. Trail-blazing. Compassionate.

Compassionate . . . even for Rabinor’s mother, who betrayed her family and sometimes gave her daughter terrible, destructive advice.

Yes. Even then.

Through a multitude of illustrations, the author shows the impact of patient, thoughtful, mutual exploration of these important relationships. But even without mutuality, she reveals how self-knowledge and chosen shifts in perception by daughters toward their mothers can quiet the pain these wounded or broken relationships can cause.

Even if the mother doesn’t change.

Does the book say all mother-daughter relationships can be healed? Or that daughters should dive back into abusive situations?

Of course not.

But if we daughters can thaw our frozen judgments about our mothers, if we can look at ourselves humbly and acknowledge that we, too, are broken and imperfect—just as they are, if we can banish our victimhood and reinterpret our stories, then we can learn to hold our moms inside of us in a place of acceptance. And, hopefully, our interactions with them will change—whether in real time or in memory—for the better.

Easy? No. And change can take a long time. But the outcome? New neural connections in brains changed for the better. Hearts re-opened. Greater wisdom and joy.

Maybe even peace with Mother.

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And from earlier posts this week . . .

Close-ups:

Open for Bees-iness.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . .”

—Galatians 5:22-23

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Slugfest.

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said.”

—Matthew 8:2-3

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Furry, firry.

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All spruced up.

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Third Degree.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.”

—Hebrews 4:13

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Thanks for coming over, friends. So good to have you here.

.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

The Endling

When a writing colleague wrote me about Dr. Deborah Maxey‘s debut novel The Endling. I investigated and, intrigued, asked for an advance copy to review.

Am I ever glad I did. I couldn’t have anticipated this story. Neither will you. But then, when a writer and PhD psychotherapist from the Blue Ridge Mountains melds her lifelong proximity to Native American culture, knowledge of the natural world, and experience counseling hurting children, how could her narrative be anything but unusual?

Here’s the gist: After Emerson Coffee’s Native grandfather dies, she’s the endling—the last of her uncertain lineage, returned from a stint in New York City to live alone in Virginia mountains deeded to her by her deceased mother. A terrifying NY threat follows her home, endangering her life and the lives of those she cherishes. Mountain and city cultures collide as Emerson creatively employs both her grandfather’s wisdom and truth revealed in nature to intercept the peril.

Caution: don’t read this book expecting a story of indigenous Native experience. It’s not.

Instead, you’ll find a coming-of-age account of a wounded, fearful, isolated young woman who, because of her Christian grandfather’s loving mentorship (and her community’s support), taps that inner equipping and transforms into a resilient woman of courage and empathy.

Of course I loved how the natural world played a huge role in all of it. Loved the transformative impact family, adopted or biological, had on Emerson. Loved how she responded to Truth’s nudges instead of to fear.

The book’s unique. Suspenseful. Well-written, with engaging characters. Full of food for the soul. I read it in two sittings, and didn’t look up during either of them.

Add The Endling to your summer reads and be nourished and inspired as you ingest it. It releases May 11, but you can preorder it now.

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And now, a few other posts from earlier this week:

How weeds bloom.

.

“Joyful, joyful, we adore You,

God of glory, Lord of love;

Hearts unfold like flow’rs before You,

Op’ning to the sun above.”

—Henry Van Dyke

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Mistletoe.

“Whenever people are…selfish, they cause trouble…”

—James 3:16

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Ingenues’ debut.

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Field Dogs.

Our bird lovin’ Gordon Setters Mamba, left, and Rosebud, right, send their hellos . . . and they’ll keep my husband company while I fly to the east coast to eat cake at my favorite eldest grandson’s fifth birthday party. I’ll be in the air when this posts.

So . . . I’m not only skipping town, I’ll be skipping a week of social media—and my blog. Watch for my next post here on Saturday, May 15.

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Thanks for reading, friends. I look forward to reconnecting when I get home.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

SHORT-EARED OWL

Happy to share my photo essay/poem “Short-Eared Owl” with you! Last week it landed in the Spring 2021 edition of God and Nature Magazine, a publication of the American Scientific Affiliation, an international network of Christians in science.

I’d searched for these active little owls on my earlier trips to the Skagit Flats, but always in the mornings.

Then my friend Linda showed me a beautiful shot she had taken of a shortie, hunting on a sunny March day. “An afternoon shot,” she said.

So . . . I waited until the next day waned, headed south, and there they were. My poem hatched after dinner that evening.

Short-Eared Owl

by Cheryl Grey Bostrom

If only because of her wing’s leading edge,
because of a baleen feather, made for her,
and how that eyelashed pinion
smooths the ruckus
of wing flap,
combing currents until they
fall like whispers on
torn muslin feathers
of her wing’s trailing fringe,
noiseless . . .

If only because of an owl wing,
I would trust You, Designer.

Hear everything, you airborne beauty.
Surprise your meal.
Take and eat.

​Along the anterior edge of most owls’ first flight feather, one can see a delicate, comb-like serration, which serves to break up air turbulence—and noise—caused by a heavy wing-beat.

​Quieted air then streams, muffled, over the velvety bird before it flows past wispy, sound-dampening feathers at the wings’ posterior margins. The owl moves on, nearly silent, hunting her prey below.

Award-winning author Cheryl Grey Bostrom is a Pacific Northwest native, naturalist, and avid photographer. A former teacher and columnist, she lives with her husband and two irrepressible Gordon setters in rural Washington State.

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And in this week’s social media posts: Road trip pics snapped through the truck window at 60+ mph.

Day 1: See-through.

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”

—Proverbs 20:5

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Day 2: Dwarfed.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah . . .”

—Micah 5:2

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Day 3: Roll call.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”

—Luke 15:4

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Day 4: Caldera.

“Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.”

—Psalm 37:8

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Day 5: Where green is just a blink.

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And finally, I’m looking for a few more launch team members to help bring my new novel Sugar Birds into the world. There’s only one requirement: Read and review the book by August 3. Other launch stuff is OPTIONAL. (I’ll send you a digital copy.)

About those REVIEWS: Since trade reviewers like Kirkus and Chanticleer have already completed their formal trade reviews (click links to read them), you don’t need to critique the book. Simply write a few lines (even as few as 1-2 sentences) telling your response to the story.

Interested? Send me your email address via my contact page, and I’ll send you more information.

Would love to have you join me.

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Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

One Woman Can Change the World

I met Olivia in the opening pages of Ronne Rock‘s book One Woman Can Change the World. Interesting characters always captivate me, so I read on, willing—because of Olivia—to read one more book about leadership and missionary outreach. Many of these are, after all, important books, awakening awareness and compassion. Inspiring prayer. Giving me tools for working with others.

But I’ve read lots of them over the years. Now I was looking for something more.

So I was delighted when this book made me weep.

With courage and insight, Ronne tells her own history of generational brokenness and trauma and of God’s interception and redemption of it. We hear her story in bits, as she weaves it into narratives about other women’s lives . . . women who, in partnership with the living God, have changed their worlds in the midst of the most desperate of conditions.

Sisters Lourdes and Teresa—one a former doctor; the other, a teacher—appear early in the book. As founders of Pequeño Refugio, aka Little House of Refuge, they piece together children’s shattered lives in an inviting home they built out of discards, using remnants of fabric for bedding; pieces of cardboard for closets; broken tiles for a colorful mosaic floor. Infusing those kids with Love, broken for them.

Newly arrived at the sisters’ Guatemala home, author Ronne surrendered her agenda as a short-term missionary to instead learn from their devotion. As she watched them in action, she observed that “true leadership had to be relational to be transformational. And yet they weren’t trying to be leaders. They were simply taking one step and the next . . . leadership they lived.”

So far, so good. These were fascinating women, neither of whom was “living the life she had planned or the life her culture said was the norm” but having a world-changing impact.

Then, as I had hoped, I read THIS and was instantly ALL-IN:

“Instead of being limited by or angry about gender or pedigree or position, they embraced it all.

“I wonder what Lourdes and Teresa would think about the two ends of the ‘Who am I as a woman?’ spectrum that seem to gain the most attention where I live. On the one end, the message ‘Let’s be girl-boss-babes and crush the patriarchy by taking over the world’ is strong. On the other end, the story is ‘Femininity over feminism—let’s be Proverbs 31 women, here for hearth and home!’ Both sides have points to ponder, each side wags the finger at the other, and both have sharp barbs used as weapons against invisible enemies.

“But neither reveals woman as she was fully designed to be.”

From that point on, I entered the guts of the book, broken into chapters exploring how we women can reclaim ourselves with the freedom and purpose and love God designed for us.

Ronne’s beautiful, resilient, inspiring friends from around the world show us the way.

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And in other posts from our week with family in California:

Easter week with family, punctuated.

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1000 miles to kiss those freckles (and hug her mama).

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Favorite Sea Ninja, age 4.

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When being a turkey is a good thing.

“Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.”

—Proverbs 29:11

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Thanks for joining me today, friends. I hope you leave here with food for thought.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks