The Full Ripened Grain: A Memoir of Healing and Hope

by Benay Nordby

The Full Ripened Grain is a memoir about a successful baby boomer, wife, and mother who finds herself deeply depressed for no apparent reason. When her loving husband says, “I want my wife back,” she searches for herself in the pages of thirty years of personal journals. From them, she recollects painful and poignant issues she faced with her family during much of the twentieth century: Tourette syndrome, her mother’s fate as a victim of medical malpractice, her father’s secret life, and the death of a beloved sister. Ultimately, she reaps the grains of truth, hope, and joy that God provides on this journey of faith.

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2013

About the author

Benay Nordby is a long-time resident of Washington State after growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, particularly West Covina. She attended Edgewood High School and earned a degree in Communications from California State University at Fullerton. She married city manager Lynn Karl Nordby in 1971 and they raised three children in Enumclaw and Bainbridge Island, WA. Ms. Nordby was appointed for three terms to the Washington State Community College Board of Trustees for Green River Community College in Auburn, WA for which she has been honored as a GRCC Heritage Person. A campus walkway was named in her honor in 2012. Her first book, The Full Ripened Grain, a Memoir of Healing and Hope, was published in the fall of 2013. She enjoys reading, film, travel and singing in church and community theater. She also loves learning and meeting new people at writers conferences.

Reviews

[Cyndie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book brought me to tears, as well as moments of laughter, as my friend Benay took me on a journey of her incredible family life. I've known Benay since 4th grade, and yet there was much I didn't know. Her story is filled with heartbreak but also with amazing strength, courage, great humor, and love of family. Beautifully written. I couldn't put it down once I started and I didn't want it to end.