published October 6, 2020. just in time for the curling-in months of winter, when quietude is the holy balm, the sacred instruction, the blessing of the long, longer, and longest nights, when what’s stirring is deep within, unseen but not unnoticed.

this, no doubt, might be the prettiest book in the bunch, each page awash and adorned in the artistry of one of book design’s true geniuses. jeff jansen, an uncannily kindred spirit, is the designer who put his brilliant touch to a few of the wonders in best-selling ann voskamp’s breathtaking collection of One Thousand Gifts, and i am oh so blessed that he’s put his hand to this newest collection of mine. it’s a compendium of essays, meditations, prayers, recipes, field notes, and winter wonderlists, drawn in part from the winter months of Slowing Time, but chock-full of plenty of new ponderings.

pull up a chair in my virtual kitchen, and come to the virtual book launch!

on a dark and cold november evening, a whole flock of us warmed things up with this “book launch” of Stillness. hosted by the lovely nearby book shop, The Book Stall, in Winnetka, you can click this link, and pretend you were here.

a few book reviews, each of which melts my heart…

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful homage to winter! If you have been casting about looking for a book to keep you company through the winter that is almost upon us, look no more. This is one of those rare books on “stillness” that combines insight with gentle wit; while focused on winter and charting the days and months of its journey, it is more than this. Page after page invites the reader into Barbara’s gracious life–and her generous kitchen! Here, one comes upon Barbara’s gentle embrace of this life together with her culling from the treasury of wisdom that comes to us down the ages. In page after page she shares with her grateful readers a sense of what it means to pay attention to the little things and moments, which offer gifts for those with eyes to see. Thankfully, her eyes are good guides for those open to the wonders of this season–and beyond. As a memoir shaped by a profound sense of life’s blessings, this is a book to keep in one’s kitchen. . .or by one’s favorite armchair, close at hand for those long winter nights when one longs for good company, abiding comfort, and sage advice. — msb on amazon

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “The Stillness of Winter: Sacred Blessings of the Season” (Abingdon), by Barbara Mahany. Marquette alumna Mahany, a former pediatric oncology nurse turned spiritual writer, finds both wonder and inner sustenance in the dark, cold months. This small book is like going on retreat with her. 

more to come soon…

blessed be: it’s a book with a ribbon. when the first copy of Stillness landed with a plop on my doorstep back in october, wasn’t i delighted to discover that the lovely folk at Abingdon thought to bedeck my book with a a single strand of satiny ribbon, a way to mark your place, so you might begin again wherever you left off, or hold in stillness a particular page of Stillness. thank you, dear Abingdon friends….