PORTLAND, Ore., November 18, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- You are about to be welcomed to the life of a woman who, through the vehicles of prose and poetry, shares her struggle to become a conscious human "being." She shares her hand-to-hand combat over time with ghosts who haunt her life, suck its energy and, daily, leave her feeling like she is pushing a rock uphill in her collection of prose and poetry entitled "Waking Up...Alive: A Prose and Poetry View of Life From the Inside Out" (now available through 1stBooks Library).
Her use of nature as a powerful metaphor for spiritual awareness and growth in tandem with a solid and "naked" spirituality offers the reader many opportunities to reflect, perhaps to identify with the emotions flowing from the words used.
The prose and poetry erupting from journals and other materials dating from 1968-2000 portray a woman tenacious in her pursuit of wholeness. Through the mountains and valleys of a life of service including nearly 25 years in religious life and consistent concern for the less fortunate among us, she peels back the overlays of her life to discover what had always been there - a woman embraced, blessed and in intimate relationship with God.
Unlike many personal journey stories, this one is unique in its approach. She dwells not on her outer life and its successes/failures but concentrates on her inner life. Brutally honest, she reveals raw nerves, vulnerabilities and opportunities as she transitions through her life. Carefully bringing to light her inner work, she articulates simple processes, relationships and interventions that were successful in pursuing a sense of wholeness in this life.
"Waking up...Alive" offers an opportunity for readers to follow the journey of one woman soaking up hope for their adventure in personal discovery and empowerment. The interaction between the poetry and the prose is a dance that stimulates and inspires the engagement of the heart and the mind. Thus, the whole person can identify or not, be stimulated to uncover or discover, but most of all be invited to question how they are either used by life events or set direction to how they deliberately live out life events.
A prolific writer of varied genre, JoEllen has authored journals and poetry; federal, state and county funding proposals; administrative, personnel and finance manuals; and articles for professional journals. She is a lifetime poet and journal keeper, and sets forth her first book - a prose poetry dance of her coming to conscious living from the inside out. JoEllen Shannon can be reached by email at Spiritwmnassoc@attbi.com.
She makes her home with her partner and two fur children in Portland, Ore.
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