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Dawn Downey

Goodreads Author

Born

in Ottumwa, The United States

Website

https://dawndowneyblog.com/home.html

Genre

Memoir, Spirituality, Humor and Comedy

Influences

Brenda Miller, Tony Morrison, Eduardo Galeano, James Baldwin

Member Since

August 2012

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Dawn Downey writes essays about her journey through everyday life. The question she strives to answer: How does a sensitive elder woman of color thrive in an insensitive, white-centered, male dominated, youth-oriented culture? The author of multiple books, she also writes “Dawn Downey’s Teachable Moments,” a Substack newsletter. Blindsided: Essays from the Only Black Woman in the Room earned Book of the Year Finalist honors from the Independent Author Network.

Downey lives with her husband in Kansas City, Missouri.

Learn more at DawnDowneyBlog.com.

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Popular Answered Questions

I just love the title to your book, Dawn. Stumbling Toward the Buddha: I am so interested to read it. Where did you encounter Buddhism?

Dawn Downey Hi Charlene, Thank you for asking that! This is just the goofiest thing, almost as if Buddhism was looking for me. Several months after I divorced (it…moreHi Charlene, Thank you for asking that! This is just the goofiest thing, almost as if Buddhism was looking for me. Several months after I divorced (it was respectful, but painful) I began feeling grief, like someone had died. I was sad, and calm at the same time. I suspected grief might be part of what people go through when they get divorced, so I wanted to find a support group. I could feel something else going on too, not emotional. It felt like some kind of spiritual stirring without feeling Christian, although I had no idea what that meant. I called a nurse hot line and asked the nurse if he could find me a support group for people going through divorce, but one that was spiritual, but not Christian, as well as psychological. The nurse seemed to know exactly what I was talking about even though I did not. And then he said, "I can tell you're not codependent, but I think you should try this codependents support group at this Christian church." We both were laughing about that, but I said sure. When I got to the church, I looked at a bulletin board to find out where they were meeting and saw a little flyer with an ad that said "Counseling from a Buddhist Perspective." I knew immediately that was why I was there. And I was right. I called the counselor and started a dozen years of increasingly deeper study of the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness. Thank goodness for that codependents group!(less)

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What are you currently working on?

Dawn Downey I'm currently working on a new collection of essays. The working title is Stumbling Toward Devotion: Essays about Love. When people speak about loving…moreI'm currently working on a new collection of essays. The working title is Stumbling Toward Devotion: Essays about Love. When people speak about loving God, I'm not sure what they mean. I'm mystified by the idea of God's love. I don't know what it feels like. So I'm writing about what the experience of God's love might look like. So far I've written about attending a Kirtan (a devotional Hindu service), attending a Baptist church, attending a memorial service, trying to find a sense of community, and walking the stations of the cross. Every month, I send out a new essay to my email newsletter subscribers. Sign up here: http://dawndowney.com/newsletter-sign...(less)

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Dawn Downey’s books

Average rating: 4.45 · 91 ratings · 20 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Stumbling Toward the Buddha: Stories about Tripping over My Principles on the Road to Transformation 4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Dad Is My Hero: Tributes to the Men Who Gave Us Life, Love, and Driving Lessons by Susan Reynolds (Goodreads Author) (Editor/Contributor), Alan C. Baird (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Carol E. Ayer (Goodreads Author) 4.20 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2009 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blindsided: Essays from the Only Black Woman in the Room 4.52 avg rating — 23 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Dawn to Daylight: Essays 4.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Searching for My Heart: Essays about Love it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alone in the Dark: Essays About Everyday Bravery it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stumbling toward the Buddha: 10th Anniversary Edition it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dawn Remembered it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2012 NCW Contest Winners by Jennifer Top (Editor), Dawn Downey (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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631 posts
Dawn Downey's Blog

I Have Regrets

I came home from college for the weekend, and someone new was crashing at our house. She was blond, I think. Fair, small, and dainty. She seemed fragile. Perhaps I saw a mirror image, because fragile was how I felt all through college.

In spite of the fact I fell in love with her the way little girls often do, I remember only one conversation and very little of that. Mother had put us to work clean Read more of this blog post »

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Dawn is Currently Reading

Dawn Downey is currently reading

Ninth Ward (The Louisiana Girls Trilogy, #1)

by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 17, 2021 04:06AM

Dawn Downey is currently reading

The Coparazzi

by Vincent Casale (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 15, 2021 02:43PM

Dawn Downey is currently reading

Go Tell It on the Mountain

by James Baldwin

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Mar 09, 2021 04:50PM

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Dawn’s Recent Updates

Dawn Downey wrote a new blog post I Have Regrets I came home from college for the weekend, and someone new was crashing at our house. She was blond, I think. Fair, small, and dainty. She seemed fragi Read more of this blog post »
Jul 07, 2025 02:23AM · like
Dawn Downey rated a book it was amazing Stumbling toward the Buddha: 10th Anniversary Edition by Dawn Downey (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 23, 2024 10:08AM · like
Dawn Downey made a comment on A Giant Thank You " Alyssa wrote: "I love the fact that so many people helped you along the journey to where you are at this moment - and I love your gratitude toward the ...more "
Sep 10, 2024 10:04AM · see blog post
Dawn Downey has read Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion by Nishta J. Mehra (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 26, 2024 12:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Brown White Black by Nishta J. Mehra. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Brown White Black by Nishta J. Mehra <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Dawn Downey (?)

“Acceptance. It sounds so gentle; you foolishly imagine you might try it. As if you could choose. You don’t choose. You plummet into acceptance, because the floor has collapsed beneath your feet.”
― Dawn Downey, Stumbling Toward the Buddha: Stories about Tripping over My Principles on the Road to Transformation

tags: acceptance, surrender, surrender-to-god

8 likes

“It was a good day to die.I was in love. The house was clean”
― Dawn Downey, Stumbling Toward the Buddha: Stories about Tripping over My Principles on the Road to Transformation

tags: death-and-dying, love, love-story, lovers

2 likes

“I was unprepared for the firsthand experience of mindfulness. The way that awareness … revealed a sense of well-being right there in the heat of my emotions.”
― Dawn Downey, Stumbling Toward the Buddha: Stories about Tripping over My Principles on the Road to Transformation

tags: mindfulness, mindfulness-buddhism, mindfulness-practice

1 likes

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Dawn’s Quotes

“Can a man still be brave if he's afraid? That is the only time a man can be brave.”
― Geroge R. R. Martin

tags: bravery, courage, fear

1 likes

“I am tired of the whole concept of humans right now.”
― Martha Wells, Network Effect

tags: human-condition, sarcastic-humor

32 likes

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”
― James Baldwin

8944 likes

“I’ve been firmly grounded in reality since I was a child, and I’m still waiting for it to impress me.”
― Jessica Conoley

tags: creativity, humor, inspirational

3 likes

“Winter in Ohio was especially rough if you had an appetite for color.”
― Toni Morrison, Beloved

2 likes

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