Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're taking a step away from the realm of Fiction and looking closer at a tale from every day life. It's a Memoir that takes us from the fast paced city life into something a bit more rambling with plenty of room to grow. The transition was welcomed, but the hardships encountered were anything less than foreseen. Will the challenges life presents be too great? Or will taking a step back with a view from “the teacher” shed a new light on all that transpires? Ladies and gents, press pause on your day for a moment as we stroll through the pages of today's book of choice...
The Parables of Sunlight
by
Margaret Dulaney
About the book...
Creative Nonfiction. The story of a neglected farm, an abandoned and injured horse, and the resilience of hope. Written by Margaret Dulaney, the author of Listen Well, the spoken word website exploring open faith ideas through story and metaphor.
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A little deeper...
Especially during the era of COVID, many have fantasized about leaving the big city behind to take up a life in the country. Dulaney didn’t just dream about it – she did it. After 18 years living in Manhattan, she and her husband traded in their hectic city life for the peace of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Taking on one hundred acres of neglected farmland, they discovered a rich community of souls, both human and animal.
Dulaney is sharing that story – which suddenly with the pandemic seems all-the-more relevant – in The Parables of Sunlight, a book which revolves around her love of an abandoned and mortally injured horse, and the courageous pursuit of healing.
The book is also filled with gorgeous interior illustrations by nationally recognized illustrator, Glenn Harrington making it a feast for the eyes as well as the soul.
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The basic concept of the story...
...a true to life account of the big change their move from city to fields started, the obstacles placed in their path, and ultimately the steady course they developed over time. Life was not without complications, or hardships, but was met with a questioning mind, and a steadfast heart. She took the hiccups along the way and turned them into moments of reflection that further grew her both as a person and in her beliefs.
Thing is...
...it wasn't exactly what I thought I was getting into when I first started. I mean, I guess nothing really ever is unless you, yourself, wrote the work. In this case, I thought I was getting more life story, and challenges, when in fact I ended up with a fraction of that and a large dose of why we wander through this life, why things happen, and how to put them in perspective.
In the end...
...it was still a work worth the read, but I do believe it would appeal more to those exploring their faith or beliefs than those that are more focused on the assigned genre. The time she spent purging the farm of the darkness that had seeped in (those former tenants...whew!), the heart she gave however unwillingly (at first) to the healing of a horse she was bound and determined to stay detached from, and the many life paths she crossed with throughout the years, all added up to a memorable journey. One can certainly take a page from her work as to the peacefulness that can be found when we allow ourselves the time to breathe, the time to think, the time to really feel ourselves and know that we are on the path that our heart truly finds fulfilling.
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About the author...
Margaret Dulaney has been writing down her thoughts on divine themes since 2000 and recording these musings for Listen Well since 2010. The only expertise she claims is a lifelong love for her subject, a library full of the wisest of thinkers, and a desire to travel beside each listener in like-minded curiosity. Every month she explores such themes as hope, love, forgiveness, kinship with all life and kindness. Her liturgical influences range from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Lao Tsu to the man who happens to be standing behind her at the checkout counter. She is a self-professed Everythinger, welcoming wisdom wherever she can find it.
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Special thanks to Katie at SMITH PUBLICITY for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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