YOU KNOW YOU’VE MET SOMEONE SPECTACULAR when she lends you her snowshoes, hoping you—a fellow writer—can be lured away from the computer, for your own good. That’s how Katrina Kenison is: She arrives bearing gifts, but not the ones you buy at a store, necessarily. They’re more likely to be something that could nudge you into appreciating “The Gift of an Ordinary Day,” as her book by that title does. Meet a new friend, and comment to win a copy of “Gift”—and an advance one of “And I Shall Have Some Peace There,” too. We’ll each give away two sets of them this week on our blogs. Here’s our story, and how the giveaway works:
If I hadn’t signed with the same publisher, I doubt I’d have met Katrina–our lives and stories appear so different, and she lives a few states away (though, as if by magic, one of her sons is just minutes down the road from me at school). Hers is “a mother’s memoir,” as the cover subhead reveals, co-starring a husband and teen-age boys; mine the tale of a single woman setting off to a rural life of solitude. But when we both participated in a booksellers trade show in October, we learned the meaning of that old saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Or a life.
“I was reading your book on the way here,” she told me excitedly as I shook her hand at the show, bumping into her words with my, “I just finished your book last night.”
I had known about Katrina—many authors do, because her book video (above) became a YouTube sensation, the second-most-watched book “trailer” out there, apparently, at more than 1.5 million views. But even after viewing it, I wasn’t prepared for the strong identification I’d feel with “Gift of an Ordinary Day,” or Katrina herself. I had to read the book.
Turns out ours are both tales of transition; of career shifts and the related midlife transformations; of the deliberate choice of small-town living; of facing fears that arise when making big change. We each cast a beloved house—our true home—as a character in the plot. We share the love of yoga; tell tender stories of reliance on new neighbors; and of course, of the joys discovered when doing what in our old city lives would have seemed like “doing nothing.”
Whether you call such non-goings-on “gifts,” as she does, or “peace” (my term)—is mere semantics. Katrina is a kindred spirit, and I think you will love her book, her newly redesigned blog, her gentle generosity of spirit. And so many sentences she keeps on delivering that just hit home:
“I don’t have to be who I’ve always been, or stay afraid of the things that have always scared me,” Katrina wrote on her site the other day. (Sounds like, me–and maybe you–right?) Or this from week before last: “Solitude is the soul’s holiday, an opportunity to stop doing for others and to surprise and delight ourselves instead.”
Words to live by, at least for me just now.
To Enter the Giveaway
TO ENTER TO WIN ONE OF FOUR SETS OF BOOKS, comment here and on Katrina’s site, noting in both places the name of another book about personal transition that you identified with. Tell us why, too, if you wish. Regulars to my blog know that I understand some of you are shy and just prefer to say “Count me in,” or “I want to win,” but if you feel like sharing an inspirational book title and a sense of the “why” behind your choice instead, please do; all the better.
Entries close at midnight Sunday, January 23, with winners to be drawn at random (using the tool at random [dot] org) and announced the next day.
Remember: Once you post your entry here, go visit Katrina to double your chances—and tell her Margaret says hello, and that a full report on my snowy adventure is soon to come, thanks to her.
Woops, I totally forgot to tell you a very motivational book I have read. It is called “Notes Left Behind”. It is a journal written by a family during the last year of their 6 yr old daughters life. It is an inspiration to me to remember what is truly important in life. It reminds you to stop your “rat race” life . . . take time to tell those around you that you love them, hug your kids, smell the flowers . . .
Oh my, did “the gift ordinary day” hit a cord! My son will be leaving home to wed in June…finishing up grad school in May…..while my husband and I will be embarking a new life at home without the joy of our life! Need to get a copy quick!
Would love to have the books. Every day is a gift!
I would be honored to win a set of books. I, too, am trying to make change with as much grace as possible.
I’m new to this stage of my life. I am still a single woman who came from a small town and spent 35 y in a big city on the west coast, deeply involved in a demanding career. Now I have retired and moved to 3 acres in America’s heartland. I’m designing, landscaping, planting my garden wondering how I could possibly have had the temerity to take on the weather and soil here. The books most relevant to my current transition have been “A year in Provence” by Peter Mayle and “Gardening letters to my daughter”Anne Scott-James”. I would love to win one of the books.
I completely connected with Dominique Browning’s Slow Love Life. Her writing empowered me to listen to myself- my deep down self.
Namaste’
I happened upon this somehow this morn.
These are the happenings I adore : )
“This splendid book—with its improbable mix of animal husbandry, intentional community, academic life, rural experience, and Quakerish Zen—offers both wise-cracking fun and wise companionship on the spiritual journey. Read it and laugh. Read it and weep. Read it and grow. This is a flat-out fabulous book!” —Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. I copied this quote because I wanted to make sure the essence of this book was understood. beyond that, what I really loved is her way of writing that is conversational and endearing—-I wrote my name in this book before sharing—-I loved it, and want it back.
…and the name of the book?’ The Barn at the end of the world’ by Mary Rose O’Reilly.
The Stations of Solitude, Alice Koller. Who hasn’t struggled with trying to make sense of her life? Twenty years ago this book was the guide; it still is.
Currently Katrina Kenison’s – The Gift of an Ordinary Day. I love it! I am a mother of 3 grown boys and can relate to her story in so many ways. I also loved The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff! And now I am looking forward to using a giftcard I rec’d for Christmas to purchase “And I Shall Have Some Peace There”!!
Would be very blessed to win a set of books – always looking for a great read!
Thanks for the opportunity!
I was really touched by Katrina’s reading on this video. Motherhood was such a special, fulfilling time in my life and I missed those small moments she spoke about so much when my children became adults. Now my son is living across the country and his son, my grandson is the light of my life, but sadly so far away that i do not get a chance to see him often. My daughter is not married as yet, but she is on her own and busy with her career. As parents we raise our children to be independent and fulfill their life’s aspirations, so I take comfort that is what they are doing. What I try to do now is focus on enjoying my city and learning about all it has to offer. I try to offer that experience on my blog. I try to dwell on the positive aspects of my life.
As a young adult reading “The Prophe”t by Kahlil Gibran had an impact on my life. Later in life “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach made me feel more gratitude for my everyday experiences and I’ve kept a gratitude journal ever since reading her book.
I invision reading both of these books. a great gift it would be to win them through thr giveaway .
Thank you for the opportunity to receive your book. There are many books I feel inspired by and included them on Katrini’s site too. To share some, I would say anything written by Janisse Ray, a beautiful writer and beautiful person, anything by Barbara Kingsolver but in particular Prodigal Summer and John Hanson Mitchell’s The Wildest Place on Earth, Italian Gardens and the Invention of Wilderness. This was exactly what I needed to read at a time I was struggling with doing formal (garden) designs while really wanting to keep it wild and natural. Joan
I love when serendipitous information, events, chance enters your day to confirm things you already adhere to: my new year’s resolution is to find daily pleasure, however great or small.
Thanks for sharing this, and the opportunity, Margaret!
So, Margaret, you have emboldened me these last several months to “speak” in this forum. Thank you. I’ve never been sure if I offer up a personal thought that it is not merely cast adrift in the sea of words that comes to our ears each day. So now I risk it and hope perhaps this will land somewhere and someone will find it useful or interesting or worth pausing to read. At a personal crossroad in my previous profession a dear friend in similar circumstance was kind enough to gift me the book titled “Always Believe in Yourself and Your Dreams”. Nine years later finds me running my own small company, on my own terms, helping others to learn to love their gardens.
Gift From The Sea
and MittenStrings From God
Tinkers — for the lovely ways each second ticks by and the cycles of living and dying and remembering intersect and go their ways.
Count me in for the drawing! I am currently in the middle of “Eat, Pray, Love” (wisely reading it before seeing the movie) and have found it poignant to the point of tears. I find so many similarities between Liz Gilbert and myself, both in actual circumstances (horrible divorce and attaching myself to men to keep from being alone) and also in mental outlook. Not too long before picking up the book, I actually found myself also on my knees praying and crying in the middle of the night (something I’ve never done before). Because I identify so well with her, I feel as if I am taking this journey to self discovery and healing right along with her. It is my new favorite book, toppling “To Kill a Mockingbird” which has held that title for nearly 25 years.
Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott
The book that helped shape my vocational and spiritual paths was Parker Palmer’s “Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation.” It was suggested to me in a daylong workshop on spiritual leadership and helped lay the cornerstone of my ministry in Unitarian Universalism, a wide divergence from the newspaper journalism with which I began my career. Wherever you are in life, Parker Palmer has words to soothe and heal, particularly in this book.
It was a lovely video and I would love to win.
As usual, Margaret, your page has provided another wonderful deep well of great material…from Katrina Kenison, to some of the inspiring writers mentioned by your other posters. My own personal transition came back in the 1990s, quitting a high powered job to live traveling on a sailboat for 5 years. No single book resonated with me, but I remember a saying (or perhaps it was a book)…”feel the fear, and do it anyway”! Actually, I just googled that term, and now it looks like it is a whole industry! Well, in any event, count me in with these two books. Many thanks!
Count me in! I would love to read both books!
I too have found inspiration from Liz Gilbert and Anne Lamott. Tracks by Robyn Davidson reminded me years ago that “Adventures do not end they merely change form.” Gift from the Sea–I first read it 25 years ago while in the Peace Corps –yesterday I turned 50 and her words still bring me peace and reflection. I am so grateful to have stumbled upon Katrina’s books– The Gift of an Ordinary Day –is so validating and lovely. Look forward to discovering Margaret’s writing too….Thank you.
As I responded on Katrina’s site, I mentioned the books of Barbara Brown Taylor-Altar in the World and Leaving Church- about her own journey at midlife and had to say a hearty “yes” to many other authors. But I have also found comfort in quotes– This one consoled me in the past two years when my husband and I were shocked out of habitual living by a job loss (him) and a career change (me).
“Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground
and step off alone in a new place, there will be,
along with the feelings of curiousity and excitement,
a little nagging of dread.
It is the ancient fear of the Unknown,
and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into.”
— Wendell Berry
Count me in- I know I will be inspired by both books.
I found and read Harold Kushner’s book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” at a particularly difficult time in my life. I’ve since recommended it to others to help them see things in a different light.
His writing really helped me…
…mary
count me in too. I read the Gift of an Ordinary Day in the last six months and have been a faithful blog reader since. I am at that place that you both refer to on your websites. I also love Anne Lamott because honest authors read as honest and self deprecating authors are even better. Who doesnt love a good laugh at oneself? Looking forward to Margaret’s book now too.
Yes! Please count me in. Prof. Randy Pausch’s book “The Last Lecture” made an impact on my outlook.
I read Katrina’s “The Gift . . .” back in October and I return to it constantly. But I had to laugh when I watched your video on her website. You talk about just wanting to get up from your desk and walk away . . . – I am so there. But I’m an older mom – turning 50 in a week or so with 8 and 10 year old daughters and a marvelous husband so I’m in a slightly different place than you and Katrina. But the urge to move to some rural out-of-the way place for the peace and solitude is overwhelming at times. I’m crave a quiet life and I think my children would benefit from it too – much like Katrina’s did.
I would love to have a copy of your book to add to my collection inspiring and thoughtprovoking books!
Dakota, by Kathleen Norris
Two-Part Invention, by Madeleine L’Engle
Leaving Church, by Barbara Brown Taylor
(I have to admit I love all of each of their books, but these are the ones I think of particiular in response to this question . . . at least today . . .)
I would love to read both books:-) Still trying to find myself after moving from Europe and finding myself raising 3 kids in a rural farmhouse in the midwest, 15 minutes from the city….
Hi, Margaret,
I found my way back through the grief of losing my mother and then my brother, five months after, with the book,”The Year of Magical Thinking”(2006) by Joan Didion. Please enter me in your book give away. Thanks.
I’m a single woman, almost 50 (!!), living in a very small village in the New England Tablelands of Australia. I guess there are times in our lives when we have to take stock and decide what we want to do. The thirties for me, and many women I know, are probably the first time – thinking long and hard about whether to have children, whether the job is working, whether new or extra training is needed etc. The late fourties, fifties seem to be a time when you start to realise what is really important in your life, and making decisions related to that. I’m a chef, but there isn’t much work in my small town so I’m looking at retraining (cheffing is also really hard physically). It’s not something I ever thought I’d do, because I started my chef training late in life and it was really hard! But I can always cook for family and friends, so I won’t miss it totally when I stop. One of my favourite books on the related theme of life changing is by an Australian author Patrice Newell. She had been a model, and later work in television, but after the death of her father bought a property with her partner and started farming. The book is called The Olive Grove, and I think it’s published by Penguin in Australia. She writes beautifully, but is also very down to earth about her challenges. Highly recommended
in Willa Cather’s “My Antonia” the heroine return’s to the remote landscape of her youth. A transition that feels so right to her, a place where she loves her trees “as if they were people”.
My list would include Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do With My Life?” and Liz Gilbert’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love,” which I read five years ago on a four-day car trip to and from my husband’s brother’s funeral. I remember standing in the cemetery which looked out over the water, his brothers and sisters remarking that it reminded them of where they grew up, and thinking that life was too short to wait until you die to rest where you belong.
I am looking forward to reading Margaret’s book as I too hope to “find some peace there.” I still haven’t made the move, but feel myself edging closer and closer.
Other books that have led me closer to who I am or wish to be include Barbara Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer” and “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral,” Julia Cameron’s “Floor Sample,” Beth Kephart’s “Ghosts in the Garden,” Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “Gift from the Sea,” and Rolf Gates’ “Meditations from the Mat.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance touched me very deeply.
These both look perfect for late winter reading. I am a mother of 2 sons and a committed gardener ( and a first year beekeeper). In the last year I have read and repeatedly thought of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, a tool for transformation. I have given this book several times as a gift and can already imagine who might be perfect recipients of your book as well as The Gift of an Ordinary Day.
This video is lovely, and I have read almost all the books listed above (but not the two being offered, which I would love to win). What a great set of recommendations! Thank you for sharing.
Reading about seeds brings me much happiness and optimism. Thanks for the source for buying grafted tomatoes. Maybe I will succeed and eat more tomatoes next summer. While my gardening is part time, the seasons are more precious when the garden reminds us why we love life. Louise
Wow- I’m so glad Katrina introduced me to you and your blog!!! I would love to win! One of my most inspirational books, “Altar in the World.”
I am in the process of writing about my own journey of family life and the transitional experience of motherhood. My five children and husband, our home and community, were my whole world for thirty years. When our youngest entered his junior year of high school I decided to return to college to finish my BA degree. The experience has evolked an abundance of reflection on transition. As for my favorite inspiritional book I’d have to say, “Expecting Adam” by Martha Beck. Her account of per pregnancy and parenting of Adam, her son who has Downs Syndrome, is spiritual, honest, and thought provolking. Thank you, Margaret, for awakening me to Katrina’s work, it is wonderful to find another kindered spirit! At the risk of sounding like a groupie, I have to admit that I’d read anything you wrote…thank you for the possibility of winning these two treasures!
Am unable to watch Katrina’s complete video as my two beloveds are both entering college this month, and my husband and I have followed our dream and moved across the country to pursue our dream of a rural, farming life. Katrina, you had me in tears, for as far as I was able to watch. Will come back when my resolve is stronger :). An inspiration for me has been Susan Thomas at Farmgirl Fare. Her blog is not a book as such, but she has left city life on the west coast to become sheep farmer, organic vegetable grower in the Ozarks of Missouri. Love her story. Also love Jenna Woginrich’s story in Made From Scratch, in which she works to live her dream of becoming a sheep farmer on her own farm. Both great reads with real life trials, and successes! Thanks for the opportunity.
Living in the Light, Shakti Gawain [I learned to trust my gut, my instinct/intuition];
The Magic of Thinking Big, Dr. David Schwartz ["stinkin' thinkin' " holds me back];
Synchronicity, Joseph Jaworski [the power of the state of commitment & surrender together creates possibility for opportunities to show up, and they have];
Personality Profiles, Florence Littauer [enabled me to accept the way a person behaves];
The Secret [what I attract to me, what I create ];
I love this book already
Count me in!
As many who have commented, I too, loved the journey I went on reading Eat Pray Love. She got me to meditate. And after buying all the meditating periphenalia and going through much of what Liz goes through in terms of thinking you are not doing it right, I came upon Pema Chodron’s “The Places That Scare You” which taught me that you can meditate anywhere, anytime, even for a minute…to just sit and breathe and say a few words to bring you back to now and ask for what you need at that moment. I do this every single day.
Tuesdays with Morrie. I cried, laughed, and felt connected to the story.
your right this is a truly beautiful book if it is just like the video.
my own children are grown up and out in the world and although I miss their younger days I am thrilled with their lives now. I am happy that I had so many ordinary days with them.
It hits especially hard right now because my nephew was in an accident a week and a half ago and it is still touch and go for him. and I tell my kids that this is why, even though they are grown, I am always reminding them to drive careful and take care of themselves. I find myself scared that that the last memory my brother might have of him may be the hospital bed and the tubes. and I wonder how you console my sister in law and brother and there children when the unimaginable has happened. the worst nightmare has taken place but this book might be a gentle reminder for anyone to embrace what they have and treasure it. thank you for drawing it to my attension.
I loved Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey. It’s about the journey from growing up in a racist, legalistic church to a personal faith in a loving God. In it Yancey profiles some of the people, like Martin Luther King, who inspired him in his journey.
I would love to read both books. The Last Lecture was a window I needed and was most appreciated.
Faith in the Valley : lessons for women on their journey for peace by Ivanyla VanZant saved me during a very difficult period in my life! I have given this book numerous times to others who also felt helped by this book!
The gift of an ordinary day paralleled my life recently as my husband lost his job a few years ago, and we too are dealing with selling our kids childhood home! Hearing Katrinas journey helped me realize it will be okay!
I would love to win these books! Since I was a little girl books have been my passion! I still have my childhood favorites with their bookplates still attached: This book belongs to….