Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

The Weekly Read

Like coming home: A review of Roots & Sky by Christie Purifoy

This is quite possibly the most beautiful book I’ve ever read. I hope you know that I don’t say that lightly.

Roots & Sky by Christie Purifoy is a memoir about her family’s first year of living in a farmhouse in roots&skyPennsylvania. It’s organized by seasons and presents a picture of an imperfect acceptance of what it means to be home. (I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.) Christie’s journey home, both to a place and a presence, is so relatable I felt she could have been telling my story. Nearly every page contained words worth underlining. It was a privilege to read such a vulnerable story of the first year of life in a new home. I could sense the colors, sounds, tastes and feel of the seasons as each month passed.

Here’s a sample:

Wandering taught me to desire rootedness. In the wilderness, I began to long for a place where my heart and body could settle, free of striving, free of restlessness. A place where my feet could touch ground. A place where I could grow. Like a tree. … But whether we are homebodies or world travelers, we all long for the moment of arrival. We all dream of the rest and peace we imagine waits for us at the end of a long journey. (p. 19)

I can’t say enough good things about this book. Christie is a new favorite writer. She has a way of capturing deep emotions and helping the reader feel right along with them. But it’s a process of acknowledging things for the way they are and trusting that they can be better.

If you’ve ever longed for home, no matter where you live, this is a book you MUST read.

You can read more of her words on her blog, A Spacious Place.

Finding the strength to go on: Review of One More Step by Rachel Wojo

No one begins a journey in hopes it will end before they get too far down the path. The roads of life don’t begin with detour signs, and people don’t start with the feeling of wanting to give up. Not one person sets goals because she wants to fail. The beginning of a journey usually appears to be streamlined. We calculate the route from point A to point B and draw plans to connect our dreams with real life. We want to finish strong, but circumstances creep in, people change, and negative feelings emerge.” (p. 3)

From the start of One More Step, I connected with Rachel Wojo’s circumstances and encouragement when life’s journey becomes hard. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.) One More Step offers tools for finding strength to face unwanted challenges. one more step

Rachel Wojo relates personal experiences of challenge from her life: divorce and a child with increasing medical needs. Each chapter finishes with Scripture verses and a journaling exercise to apply the themes and steps discussed in the chapter. I appreciated the chance to make personal what I had read, and I was surprised at how transforming the exercises were. From the first stepping stone to the fourth, my attitude changed, as reflected by the written prayers I recorded in a journal. The steps were challenging and encouraging and helped me immediately apply what I had read.

Though taking one more step sounds simple, this is not a book to take lightly or breeze through. I read it more slowly than most books, and took time to let each chapter sink in and take root.

If you’re facing a challenging situation in life and aren’t sure whether you’ll get through, One More Step will give you practical tools and encouragement to help you believe that you can.