Sarah Ban Breathnach - 19 Nov

Dearest Reader,

Welcome. If youre a new acquaintance, I hope that by the end of our year together youll think of me as a good friend. And if youre a cherished companion, welcome back. How wonderful to be in your dear company again! However, no matter the depth of our affinity, I think that youre in for as much of a treat reading this book as Ive had in living and writing it. In fact, this new, updated Simple Abundance is the happiest writing Ive ever done.

Its hard to imagine that twenty-five years have passed since Simple Abundance was originally published in 1995. In daily essays, I shared the revelations that came while trying to reconcile my deepest spiritual and creative longings with often overwhelming commitments to family and work. I had long suspected that I wasnt alone in my frustrations and desires, but nothing could have prepared me for the way women around the worldmillions of youresponded. We began an exciting adventure together, which is a continuing source of gratitude, grace, and fulfillment for me. I hope it is for you as well.

Story is a sacred visualization. A way of echoing experience.

Terry Tempest Williams
American author, activist, and conservationist

By far, the most frequent questions Im asked when I speak or meet with readers pertain to the backstory of Simple Abundance. How and why did I write it? How did I manage to express on the page what so many women were thinking? Or the question that everybody wants to know: How did I get on Oprah?

Over the years Ive learned that the most fascinating part of any book, film, or person is their backstory, the tale hidden in between the lines. When I glance back at my own, what amazes me the most is how the mystical links in the chain of chance that brought this book into the world, my heart, and your hands came as a result of all my Unanswered Prayers. This mystery makes me smile in grateful puzzlement, for I have no explanation as to why the tears we shed over our failures prepare our souls for the growth well need for our future successes.

Simple Abundance was my third book. I had previously written two books on Victorian family life, and I was about to begin writing the next on Victorian decorative details. However, the thought of ruminating on ruffles and flourishes for a year brought dread to my heart. What I wanted to read was a book that would show me how to reconcile my deepest spiritual, authentic, and creative longings with often overwhelming and conflicting commitmentsto my daughter, my marriage, invalid mother, work at home, work in the world, siblings, friends, and community. I knew I wasnt the only woman hurtling through real life as if it were an out-of-body experience. I knew I wasnt the only woman frazzled, depressed, worn to a raveling. But I also knew I certainly wasnt the woman with the answers. I didnt even know the questions.

I could find no such book. The author Toni Morrison, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, observed, If there is a book you really want to read, but it hasnt been written yet, then you must write it. I took her advice to heart.

I wanted so muchmoney, success, recognition, genuine creative expressionbut had absolutely no clue as to what I truly needed. At times my passionate hungers were so voracious I could only deal with them through denial. I was a workaholic, careaholic, and perfectionist. I couldnt remember the last time Id been kind to myself. Was I ever? More often than it feels comfortable to admit, I was an angry, envious woman, constantly comparing myself to others only to become resentful because of what seemed to be missing from my life, although I couldnt have told you what that was.