Katrina Kenison

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Katrina Kenison

Goodreads Author


Born
in Philadelphia, The United States
October 03, 1958

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Member Since
August 2009

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"I write to remind myself of how I want to live and who I want to be," says KATRINA KENISON, author of three beloved memoirs that, together, chart the seasons of a woman's life.
Her first book, MITTEN STRINGS FOR GOD: REFLECTIONS FOR MOTHERS IN A HURRY, now a classic for parents of young children, is a compelling invitation to do less and enjoy life more -- in a culture that urges "bigger, better, faster."
THE GIFT OF AN ORDINARY DAY: A MOTHER'S MEMOIR celebrates the small pleasures and the small moments of family life, (which of course are not really small at all).
MAGICAL JOURNEY:AN APPRENTICESHIP IN CONTENTMENT, an intimate memoir of loss and change, growth and transformation. speaks to any woman who has ever mourned the passage of tim
...more

you can’t have it all

Last summer, during the time when melanoma surgery had confined me to the chaise on our porch with my leg elevated above my head, I came across a poem that saved me.  Or so it seemed, as I read it over and over again, suddenly seeing what felt like the unluckiest time of my life through a new lens.

Funny, how one simple phrase can lodge in the mind, take up residence in the heart, and offer a kind

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Published on October 04, 2025 08:54
Average rating: 3.89 · 23,860 ratings · 2,779 reviews · 42 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Gift of an Ordinary Day...

3.80 avg rating — 3,709 ratings — published 2009 — 22 editions
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Mitten Strings for God: Ref...

4.15 avg rating — 1,807 ratings — published 2000 — 25 editions
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Magical Journey: An Apprent...

3.98 avg rating — 1,082 ratings — published 2013 — 18 editions
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Moments of Seeing: Reflecti...

4.53 avg rating — 59 ratings
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Mothers: Twenty Stories of ...

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3.66 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 1996 — 7 editions
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The Best American Short Sto...

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The Gift of an Ordinary Day...

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La Voz De Los Ninos

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Beginning Statistics

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Mailand. Go Vista. City Guide.

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The God of the Woods
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The Lady's Handbo...
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Katrina Kenison wrote a new blog post

you can’t have it all

Last summer, during the time when melanoma surgery had confined me to the chaise on our porch with my leg elevated above my head, I came across a poem Read more of this blog post »
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The God of the Woods by Liz    Moore
The God of the Woods
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Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
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The Tell by Amy Griffin
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Validation by Caroline Fleck
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Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
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The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey
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Fire Exit by Morgan Talty
Fire Exit
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Quotes by Katrina Kenison  (?)
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“Not a day goes by that I don't still need to remind myself that my life is not just what's handed to me, nor is it my list of obligations, my accomplishments or failures, or what my family is up to, but rather it is what I choose, day in and day out, to make of it all. When I am able simply to be with things as they are, able to accept the day's challenges without judging, reaching, or wishing for something else, I feel as if I am receiving the privilege, coming a step closer to being myself. It's when I get lost in the day's details, or so caught up in worries about what might be, that I miss the beauty of what is.”
Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

“When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely by the light of our attention.”
Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

“...there is no such thing as a charmed life, not for any of us, no matter where we live or how mindfully we attend to the tasks at hand. But there are charmed moments, all the time, in every life and in every day, if we are only awake enough to experience them when they come and wise enough to appreciate them.”
Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

Topics Mentioning This Author

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“I suspect the most we can hope for, and it's no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love.”
Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”
Maya Angelou

“Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”
Mary Oliver

“You’re only as happy as your least happy child,’ is the best description of motherhood I have ever read.”
Sarah Payne Stuart, Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God and Real Estate in a Small Town

“Life feels precious. It is.”
Katrina Kenison, Moments of Seeing: Reflections from an Ordinary Life

93678 Ask Katrina Kenison & Margaret Roach - Monday, February 25th! — 47 members — last activity Feb 26, 2013 09:41PM
Join us on Monday, February 25th for a special discussion with Katrina Kenison & Margaret Roach. Katrina & Margaret will be discussing their newest wo ...more
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