A Stone Bridge North - Softcover

Maloy, Kate

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1582432767 ISBN 13: 9781582432762

Publisher: Counterpoint, 2003

Synopsis

This is the author's own story of miracles found and fears allayed in the journey out of a confining urban existence and into a simpler, more joyous life. To tell this story fully, she must look through changed eyes at her past - at childhood anxieties, family disaffections, failed marriages, late motherhood, restless boredom and, paradoxically, a native talent for joy. She learns that she has been guided by faith even when she thought she had none. She begins to discern purpose and design both in her stories and in the light by which she sees them - a light refracted through a Quaker lens that searches for the sacred in all people. As the four seasons turn, she celebrates the loves of her new life - family, friends, language, silence and the extraordinary landscape of Vermont.

About this title

About the Author:

Kate Maloy was born in New Jersey, but relocated at least a dozen times in childhood and even more as an adult. She now lives in Worcester, Vermont.

From Publishers Weekly:

In her mid-50s, writer Maloy moved from Pittsburgh to northern Vermont, leaving behind her "right-angled, urban existence" (a couple of failed marriages and an uninspiring career as a freelance writer). With her son and her new lover, she set out to build a new home and a new life. The "radical simplicity" of rural Vermont, the taciturnity of her mate and closeness with nature's rhythms all helped Maloy focus. A practicing Quaker even before her move, her "Inner Light" became the compass for her journey for meaning. Through the lens of her deeply felt Quaker faith, she examines past loves, failed friendships, child-rearing problems, the delights of her new soul mate and even global issues like democracy and war. And just as Indiana Jones, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, stepped out over an abyss and was saved by a rock-solid optical illusion of a stone bridge, Maloy trusts her own stone bridge faith which "equalizes, connects, provides access." As she concludes, "The more we love, the less we fear," and the "less we fear, the more perfect our freedom becomes, and the more we can extend that freedom to others." Readers unfamiliar with Quaker philosophy and history will find ample explanation here, although the rhetoric can sound preachy at times. Still, Maloy is courageous in her willingness to accept failure and imperfection as part of the process. Her insistence on leading an examined life is powerful, especially in the morally difficult times we now face. (Feb. 1)Forecast: Maloy may not attract a wide readership, but hand-selling to book buyers with a spiritual quest will be effective.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Counterpoint
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1582432767
• ISBN 13: 9781582432762
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328