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Open Road: A life worth waiting for
From the author's Amazon page:
Open Road: a life worth waiting for chronicles my life's story from my earliest memory at age three until the present moment. It echoes the heartbeat of Joseph Campbell's words: "We must be willing to let go of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
As a woman born in the mid-sixties, I was not prepared for the life I'm now embracing. Having been honed to be a wife, a mother and a caretaker, I was hopeful to create the traditional home that so many women in my generation were expected to have. Looking back over the course of my life, it seems that I was destined for journeys unseen and unknown by not only my family and community, but also completely foreign to my own reality.
Mysticism was a word unfamiliar to me, but a reality I would readily embrace as I entered the second half of my life. Enter divine guidance and the gifts of grace that often accompany the road less traveled. From encountering mystical events in my early teens to running headlong into many Dark Nights of the Soul as an adult, I know first-hand what it means to meet both the light and shadow within myself.
The book is told through the metaphor of creating a garden, with each step a necessary and preparatory stage for the following one. From tilling the soil to planting, from pruning back the excess to gathering the seeds for a future harvest, the memoir gently encourages the reader to understand that this is truly a never-ending journey through which we are all evolving in our own time...and through the unique calling of our spirits.
Each chapter in the memoir begins with a first-person, present tense retelling of a significant memory from my past. Then I lift the lesson, the experience, the circumstance and gently weave it into ever-evolving tapestry of what my life was becoming...and what is now evident in the person I am today.
It is my hope that this memoir will encourage others who have had to endure and overcome obstacles, both inner and outer, on their way to transformative healing. Through sharing my story, I wish to give others the opportunity to reflect on their own...and in turn, to share their stories as well.
This book is also available in paperback. To order a copy, please contact me at ingersoll.katie@gmail.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Open-Road-life-...
Open Road: a life worth waiting for chronicles my life's story from my earliest memory at age three until the present moment. It echoes the heartbeat of Joseph Campbell's words: "We must be willing to let go of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
As a woman born in the mid-sixties, I was not prepared for the life I'm now embracing. Having been honed to be a wife, a mother and a caretaker, I was hopeful to create the traditional home that so many women in my generation were expected to have. Looking back over the course of my life, it seems that I was destined for journeys unseen and unknown by not only my family and community, but also completely foreign to my own reality.
Mysticism was a word unfamiliar to me, but a reality I would readily embrace as I entered the second half of my life. Enter divine guidance and the gifts of grace that often accompany the road less traveled. From encountering mystical events in my early teens to running headlong into many Dark Nights of the Soul as an adult, I know first-hand what it means to meet both the light and shadow within myself.
The book is told through the metaphor of creating a garden, with each step a necessary and preparatory stage for the following one. From tilling the soil to planting, from pruning back the excess to gathering the seeds for a future harvest, the memoir gently encourages the reader to understand that this is truly a never-ending journey through which we are all evolving in our own time...and through the unique calling of our spirits.
Each chapter in the memoir begins with a first-person, present tense retelling of a significant memory from my past. Then I lift the lesson, the experience, the circumstance and gently weave it into ever-evolving tapestry of what my life was becoming...and what is now evident in the person I am today.
It is my hope that this memoir will encourage others who have had to endure and overcome obstacles, both inner and outer, on their way to transformative healing. Through sharing my story, I wish to give others the opportunity to reflect on their own...and in turn, to share their stories as well.
This book is also available in paperback. To order a copy, please contact me at ingersoll.katie@gmail.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Open-Road-life-...
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2014
2 people want to read
About the author
Kate Ingersoll
12 books3 followersKate Ingersoll has been an award-winning educator for over thirty years, first as an elementary school teacher, and now as a hatha yoga instructor for adults and children of all ages. She also teaches self-awareness and creative knitting workshops.
Currently, in-between yoga classes and knitting projects, Kate writes about living and learning in the Heartland at katiesopenroad.blogspot.com.
Currently, in-between yoga classes and knitting projects, Kate writes about living and learning in the Heartland at katiesopenroad.blogspot.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 31, 2023
Cue the Rocky movie theme. When your life kicks you down, it takes courage and resiliency to get back up and keep fighting. The author's life story is told through the seven stages of gardening. Tilling the soil, planting the seeds, watering, weeding and waiting, tending the sprouts, pruning the excess, enjoying the blooms and saving the seeds are used to tell the author's story of parental abuse, men who don't respect women, siblings who control, promises made and broken and California attitude to the extreme. Katie discusses life as a self employed yoga instructor after many years as a teacher in elementary and junior high. I had to finish it the day I started the story, just to see how it ended. It made me laugh and cry, sometimes in the same paragraph. This is only one of the books she has written. She decided to self publish and I am grateful she has made the effort. You will learn about astrology, yoga, gardening, what it's like to be a teacher of a class from hell, living next door to drug dealers, living in California and doing the right thing but being punished and ridiculed for your actions. And, still, emerging fighting and feisty. Here's hoping the author's struggles earn much success. If you enjoyed reading Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, yes I'm dating myself, or any book that deals with psychological issues or any biography, I highly recommend this title. I highly recommend it for any adult reader.
February 2, 2014
Open Road: a life worth waiting for is a collection of Katie Ingersoll's memories from age three to the present. Each story shares a lesson or an experience that she brings full circle to her life today. This book made me reflect on moments in my own life and allowed me to become more aware of the circular nature of personal growth. This engaging memoir is unlike any I have ever read.
September 5, 2014
This was an interesting and engrossing memoir. I really enjoyed learning more about her experience at Esalen, an intriguing place.
It's definitely heartfelt and sincere.
It's most likely to appeal to women who are interested in yoga and are interested in soul searching, especially those in their 40s.
I stumbled across it when looking for yoga memoirs.
It's definitely heartfelt and sincere.
It's most likely to appeal to women who are interested in yoga and are interested in soul searching, especially those in their 40s.
I stumbled across it when looking for yoga memoirs.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews