Magical Memoir Moments
My Three Cherished Things: Preserving the Stories that Go With Them
Last week I shared a conversation starter question that ignited a lively discussion. Readers shared three things they most cherished, three things they would clutch in a fire. I promised to share mine. So here goes. My first choice: I was wearing this ring on my right hand while I tried to choose my three…
The Longhouse Project at the Hans Herr House: A Good Beginning
Like many Mennonites whose roots go back to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I am a descendent of Hans Herr. The 1719 Hans Herr House, built in that year by Christian and Anna Herr, is the oldest surviving house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the oldest original Mennonite meeting house still standing in the Western Hemisphere. I…
Honoring Willa Cather: A Happiness Project
Last fall I traveled a long way to Jaffrey, New Hampshire. I wanted to place flowers at the grave of Willa Cather, my favorite author.
Willa Cather: A Pictorial Memoir
Since Willa Cather is one of my favorite writers, it will not surprise anyone who knows me well that one of my most beloved books is Willa Cather: A Pictorial Memoir. The book was published 35 years ago and is still in print. Bernice Slote, Cather scholar from the University of Nebraska, wrote the text,…
A New Earth and the Quest for the Essential Self
Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose was a runaway bestseller earlier this year, due in large part to the enthusiastic embrace Oprah Winfrey gave it on her show and in the ten-week internet classes she conducted with Tolle beginning in March, 2008. The book sold 3.5 million copies in the first…