Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy

“I see the world through the lens of metaphor,” Purifoy writes. We look through that lens with her as she shares her thoughts on a year of her life.

She and her husband bought an old farmhouse (built in 1880) on five acres in southeastern Pennsylvania. We come alongside her to experience the first year there, exploring the meaning of home and homecoming in the context of God, family, and community.

Purifoy is an eloquent writer and her account of life on the farm is delightful. She weaves her thoughts on the liturgical year into her account of family life. I particularly liked her comments on sacred places. Now “the whole world has become the setting for God's encounter with us...” “Since Jesus, every place has the potential to be sacred. We carry God with us now, our bodies are temples.” She writes with similar insight about sacred time in our frenzied world of twenty four hour shopping.

She writes about family life and the birth of her daughter. She takes us through the darkness of winter and her depression. She writes of the silence that comes before God's answer. We find that gardening in spring is an act of faith. We realize hunger is a sign of being an image bearer.

This is a delightful book full of thoughtful insights into life, the liturgical year, and family, surrounded by the framework of moving into a new home. Reading the book is a gentle reminder that, as we rush through life, we could pause to recognize life and see God in all things. Where ever we may be, Purifoy suggests, “...surely God is in this place.”

I highly recommend this book as one that calms the soul and invites us to reconnect with God in the ordinary experiences of everyday life.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Christie Purifoy has been a regular contributor to a number of online sites and has contributed essays to numerous other websites. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago and has taught literature and composition to undergraduates at the University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of North Florida. In 2012, she traded the university classroom for a farmhouse and five acres in southeastern Pennsylvania. She is always watching for the beauty, mystery, and wonder and writes about it at www.christiepurifoy.com.

Revell, 208 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.