Mary R. Hemmer lives in northeast Georgia with her family, where she helps tend the family farm, writes for her blog prayerfulkitchen.substack.com, leads workshops and retreats, and guest preaches at area churches most Sundays. You can find her on most social media outlets by her handle @prayerfulkitchen. She has one other book available in print, ""Phe and the Work of Death,"" written under the name Mary R. H. Demmler. She also contributed to the book ""In the Beginning Was The Word: An Anthology,"" edited by Katerina Katsarka Whitley. She loves that no two days are alike for her, but hopes most of them find her in the kitchen, writing, or spending time with her three children-preferably all three!
In a world where emergency first responders were prepared for a major hurricane to hit the Florida coast, but which instead devastated western North Carolina, Hemmer's collection of essays that speak to the deeper layers of our hearts strikes an incredibly resonant tone. The ways in which the most ordinary events can magnetically pull to themselves a thousand seemingly unrelated bits of emotional detritus are presented to the reader in a poignant narrative form. Best read with a bourbon under a blanket fort with several pillows. - The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Park Episcopal Priest and Scholar