The ocean gives us a wide view into possibility, the sand beneath our feet a place to rest. The writer lives in both rest and possibility.
Coming Home: a spiritual memoir, has been published! A collection of personal essays, narrative passages, and poems, Coming Home is both the story of a healing journey and a spiritual autobiography. Contrasting recollections of childhood trauma and experiences of a living faith take the reader on a steady journey from darkness into light.
“About three quarters of the way through Coming Home, Lori Vos articulates her work as a writer: “I listen for the silent voice of the Spirit who teaches me and helps me to write true things, to sing through the middle of a note.” And Vos does, indeed, sing through the middle of each note in this spiritual memoir, even though the song is not an easy piece of music. To tell the truth about a scarring past while also intoning “simple, naked praise” calls for great range and clarity. But great range and clarity are exactly what readers can expect from Lori Vos’s voice.” Jane Zwart, English Professor, Calvin University, and poet
Coming Home has won Honorable Mention in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, in the categories of Memoir and Religion/Spirituality. “The Royal Dragonfly Book Award Contest is a worldwide book competition that began in 2011 and honors excellence in all types of literature” (from website).
To see more endorsements or to order the book, you can visit the book’s web page at Shanti Arts Publishing, buy the book at Novel Idea in Kingston, or order from Amazon. The digital version is available on Amazon, Google, and Apple books.
I grew up in the beautiful Niagara region, on the shores of Lake Ontario, before moving to the historic city of Kingston, Ontario, to attend Queen’s University in 1981. After completing my B.A. (English Literature and Political Studies) and M.A. (English Literature) degrees, I married and settled permanently in Kingston. I have been a teacher of academic writing at Queen’s for over 20 years, finding great pleasure in helping undergraduates grow as writers.
In 2008, I began writing creatively in several genres: short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, non-fiction, and children’s literature. I have had poems and stories published in literary journals in Canada and the United States and several poems put to music and performed. A photo-essay book, Grandmothers of Kenya, which I wrote with my photographer life partner, Raymond, is being prepared for publication. I’m currently at work on my first collection of short stories, all of which explore the possibilities for transformation in the in-between, liminal space of traveling.
Lori Vos 