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How I welcome November! I stand at the door long before she knocks, just waiting to greet her. Her arrival means the heat of the summer is past and the winter has not yet set in. Autumnal colors, warm aromas of cinnamon and something delectable in the oven, chai tea, a warm fire on a frosty morning, a walk in the late afternoon when the slant of light through the trees is mystical, the memories of autumns past – so much that’s irresistible about November. Like George Eliot says, “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
Most of you know that I have been a caregiver to my husband for the last eleven years. He is quite the warrior, surviving three bouts with three different cancers, and this year a stroke and a nasty case of shingles. He lives his faith every day, and I am blessed that his attitude is modeled after our Lord’s. Over these last few years, I have read, researched, learned about, and practiced self-care. We have the great blessing of a twenty-five-year friendship with Dr. Jan E. Patterson, who is an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine and who is also the inaugural director of the Integrative Medical practice at UT Medicine in San Antonio. Jan has been our friend and teacher in the self-care area for several years. I can tell you what we have learned and practiced has changed our lives – breathing techniques, healthy nutrition, the use of essential oils, movement, and spiritual disciplines.
Much of my writing time this year has been working on a book with Jan, a book where her medical science and my storytelling meet. I am so pleased that this book is being released this week. Breath for the Soul is a plan for self-care integrating ancient and modern practices that work, providing a practical, step-by-step approach that recognizes more than physical needs. You are a soul, a complex person, a total self, needing nurture and care. Breath for the Soul is a full toolkit of evidence-based information, inspiring stories, trusted resources, healthy recipes, and a simple plan to give you control over your self-care. This book will empower you with these simple tools using an innovative approach that will put you on the path to health, wellness, and wholeness.
I hope you will treat yourself to this book. Links to Amazon and to Dr. Jan’s website are below. Go to her website, get to know her, and sign up for her quarterly newsletter filled with helpful information.
2022 has been an exciting year for my writing. The audiobook of Sacred Sense won a Selah award, and Searching for the Song was a finalist in the International Book Awards. Since writers create in solitude trying to connect our thoughts with readers, I think all my writer friends would agree that having our work acknowledged is thrilling. And getting an email or a handwritten card from a reader can fuel us for weeks of work. Inside information just for you – I have completed Springtime of the Song, the sixth book in the Rockwater Suite. It will be released in late February. I have a wish – when you’re doing your Christmas shopping, think about giving a book. They’re easy to purchase and wrapping them is a breeze. And best of all, books are gifts that just keep on giving.
So, now I take a breather for a few weeks to do some reading of those books I’ve purchased, to enjoy Thanksgiving (which I do every day), to observe Advent, and to celebrate the coming of our Lord. I hope you’ll get to do the same. I close with a poem from the People’s Poet, Edgar Guest.
“Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.”
Always with joy and gratitude,
Phyllis
Visit Dr. Jan's website.
https://www.drjanpatterson.com/contact-7#:~:text=Stay-,informed
Visit Amazon to purchase Breath for the Soul.
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