From the Publisher
“Time and place blur in this coming-home story. The heart-wrenching effects of a child’s buried grief intensify the sense of beauty and grace which grows out of Kathie’s search for ‘a more spacious world.’ Hemmed in by the Mennonite community, the writer traces with startling honesty and humility the path which led to achievements far beyond her imagining. A must-read.”
—Lee Snyder, President emeritus, Bluffton University
“Like the trees so beautifully described in this book, the author’s roots are deep in Mennonite soil, from which her branches spread to faraway lands and unfamiliar cultures. The voice in this book is honest and luminous, lyrical, and spiritually profound. I was often moved by her journey from deep trauma to radiant joy, the joy of coming home to self. This is a marvelous memoir.”
—Shirley Showalter, author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets the Glittering World
“With a gift for pinpoint, precise detail, Kurtz textures the architectures of her many homes in Kentucky, Iowa, Botswana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia as the eldest daughter after her father’s untimely young death—the defining feature of her life. She documents honestly her restless need to become unbound, writing movingly of the interior life, wrestling her anger and fear into fulfillment and belief in self.”
—Raylene Hinz-Penner, Lecturer emeritus, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas
“In lyrical and insightful prose, the author tells us the story of triumph after profound loss. Throughout her life’s journey, Kurtz shows true courage as she struggles to overcome her timidity and follows her inherent desire to realize her purpose and potential. She leaves us with the memory of an imaginative child who will not abandon the voice of her soul.”
—Saloma Miller Furlong, author of Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds
