Pleasures and Ponderings: From Nun to Nudist to Now - Softcover

Vestan, Moreah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1410777596 ISBN 13: 9781410777591

Publisher: 1st Book Library, 2004

Synopsis

For four years, Moreah Vestan has recorded her fleeting thoughts, intense questions and love of life in a carefree journal that speaks of the essence of living. In Pleasures and Ponderings: From Nun to Nudist to Now, Vestan offers dozens of essays that tell of the need to savor each moment and relish the pleasure in every second while still setting aside time to ponder life's tough questions.

Vestan delights in lilacs and leftovers, shares insights about lost loves and faces the discomfort of questioning her beliefs. The book is a truly inspiring hodgepodge of wisdom, with topics ranging from relationships to aging. The reader absorbs Vestan's enthusiasm for life and her appetite for variety. Her childlike sense of wonder is perfectly conveyed, as are her profound ideas about life.

She writes about finding Mr. Right, dealing with family issues and personal priorities, among many other important topics. Lessons about every aspect of living are offered to the reader. If one is looking for an honest look at life, they will find it by looking through the eyes of an independent, adventurous woman who knows how to embrace life from its most simple aspects to its most mysterious. She also tells of her musings of life from nun to nudist to now.

"You come away agreeing that assumptions can be questioned and that there may be no higher purpose than enjoying everyday pleasures, while pondering the meaning of even the imponderables with grace and/or fortitude," she writes.

Vestan began her young life believing she had a religious calling. She spent one year in a convent, moving on to pursue a career in teaching. She has worked a variety of other jobs and is currently a life coach and a relationship columnist for Seattle's Active Singles Life. She dated frequently after her divorce in the 1970s and had once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as traveling for three months in Southeast Asia alone and teaching English as a Second Language in Mexico. Pleasures and Ponderings is her first published book.

About this title

From the Author:

Pleasures and Ponderings: From Nun to Nudist to Now offers friendship as you share the universal experiences of hurt and love, frustration and celebration, fear and success. When you're in a reflective space, read "Living with Loss and Longing," "What Am I Here For?" "What if I Don't Figure it Out?" and "When is Enough Enough?"

Maybe you're in a pleasure-oriented frame of mind. You'd enjoy "Eleven Guidelines for Pursuing Pleasure," "April Appetites," "Clothes on the Ground, Sun on my Skin," "I Couldn't Stand Still," and "Morning Glories, Pears and Old Comics."

Wondering about relationships? Enjoy "Relationship Changes-It's Not All or Nothing," "Ready to Commit?" and "The Search is Over-I Found Him."

As you consider family matters, you can relive "A Mother's Pride," "Childhood Hurts through an Adult's Eyes," and "Memories of my Teenagers." You may even identify with "I'm a Grandma-I Get to Play."

Wonder along with me about support, inner peace, choices, living in the moment, juggling to do's, storing memories, living with endings, and my constant curiosity. Ask with me "What About Right Now?" and "Expecting too Much of Myself? Too Little?"

In Digging Deeper, take on "Priorities, Pleasures and Procrastinations." I suggest "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life," and ask "Is Your Nose in the Guidebook or on the View?" I wonder aloud, "Does it Matter?"

Finally, in Communicating with Heart, I write about "Compassionate Communication-a Loving Way to Connect" and "What do You Need? How are you Meeting Your Needs?

From the Back Cover:

Moreah's thinking is definitely outside the box. In fact it is liberating, mind altering, and yet nurturing at the same time. If you are, however, comfortable in your box, this is not the book for you. As Moreah shares her journey from obedient child to autonomous woman, you might be inspired, shocked, amazed, or enlightened, but never bored.

She draws the best from her own experience and other teachers of Nonviolent Communication to convey the spirit of truly listening with empathy and communicating with compassion.

Kelly Bryson, Don't be Nice, Be Real - Balancing Passion for Self with Compassion for Others. Certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication. LanguageofCompassion.

About this edition

• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1410777596
• ISBN 13: 9781410777591
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 292