Unfinished . . .

On Wednesday, my cousin, ME and I played hooky.  Well, sort of, we didn't call off work, we planned ahead for a day off mid-week.  Why?  Because Joan Anderson was in town!  We attended a talk and book signing event in the morning, had a wonderful lunch at Cooper's Hawk Winery with one of my Iona sisters from my first retreat to Iona, attended the film's pre-party event, and saw the movie, Year by the Sea.

The film was made from her first three memoirs, and had its Midwest premiere at the Naperville Independent Film Festival. It's been on the festival circuit for most of this year and won all sorts of awards already.  If it comes to a film festival near you - see it. This is the initial trailer that was made through a Kickstarter funding drive in 2014:


Joan's books, and Joan herself have been very important in my life for the better part of the last decade.  I discovered her books at a very low point in my life.  I was stuck, stuck, stuck.  Long story short, I ended up retreating with her to the Isle of Iona in March of 2007, and the path to my myself that you hear me mention here quite often, became very, very clear thanks to that "time out of time," as Joan often calls it.   I've retreated with her several more times.  She has been a mentor to me and I'm very grateful. 

Her story speaks to all women - and her husband's story speaks to all men! 

I'd start with the first book, A Year by the Sea, if you want to read her story. The book that I first discovered was her fourth, A Weekend to Change Your Life: Find Your Authentic Self After a Lifetime of Being All Things to All People, but I had to stop part way through because I needed to know how she'd gotten unstuck - how she'd gotten to the place she was writing about!  So I quickly picked up A Year by the Sea and then read the next two books before picking back up with A Weekend to Change Your Life.

My time on Iona was life-altering for me, and I now seek retreat time on a regular basis - it's not always far away or for very long, but it feeds my soul and spirit.  In fact, it's about time for me to spend some time in retreat - particularly after the year I've had healthwise.

All the events were wonderful!  Here is a photo of Joan's assistant Cathy (one of my Iona sisters), Joan, and my cousin ME at the premiere  :-)


And if you would like to see me, and some other women who were at the book signing talk a little about our journeys and how Joan has impacted our lives, I'm the redhead on the right in the group at the beginning; one of my Iona sisters, Susan, is the first solo speaker; and my cousin ME is the second solo speaker - wait until you hear her story!


Read Joan's books, explore her website - maybe even retreat with her.  She is a watchwoman for our times and her story is universal. 

You can thank me later  :-)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Annie!
You have piqued my curiosity about Joan Anderson. I have requested her first book from the library [I'm on a waiting list] and look forward to reading it. I've always had an interest in finding peace within myself. And I always thought I was at peace, but there is one person who has made me aware that I've some inner issues that needs to be addressed.
I find it is helpful to keep asking why? about things that happen in ones life. Things happen for a reason and they don't always come with a manual.
I love all of your knitting projects that you've finished. Great work! I've finally caught up reading your blog. I always enjoy reading what you have written.
Janice H.
A :-) said…
I hope you will enjoy Joan's first book - and read the rest of them!

I you believe you are at peace, Janice, then don't let anyone pull you from that path - perhaps the person who you say has made you aware is putting their own issues on you . . . in any case, I hope that Joan's work will have meaning for you. It certainly has for me :-)

Thank you for your kinds words - I love that you read and enjoy my blog :-)

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