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Melynne Rust

@melynnerust

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Writing in the space between religion and spirituality.
Author of The Things That Saved Me
Author of Common Spaces Between Us

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I’m so excited! Today’s the day! Launch Day for my new book ‘The Things That Saved Me’ and I am so excited to share her with you!!
🎊🎊🎊
You can find her on Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and through any Ingram Book Group retailer (ask your local bookshop and library to order her for you).
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Although my name is on the front cover, there are so many whose support made this book a reality. I’m beyond grateful to my editor extraordinaire, Christianne Squires, and to my incredibly creative friend and artist @kathrynconeway , whose gorgeous artwork graces the cover of my book. And for my writer’s group and Bookwifery creative group, who have been there all along the way, providing encouragement, inspiration, wisdom, and companionship. I am so grateful for each of you. And to my launch team, thank you for taking the time to read my book manuscript and supporting her birth into the world.
❤️🙏❤️
And for each of you here, who have followed my journey, offering respite and encouragement along the way, may this book be a blessing to you. May it breathe light into your story. May it inspire you to connect with your younger selves and glimpse threads of light all throughout your stories. May it be so.
💖💝💗
#thethingsthatsavedme #breathinglightintoourstories #threadsoflight #booklaunchday #bookbirthday by @melynnerust

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8 months ago

This is one of those books that will stay with me for a while. In fact, even though I read it through the library, I went out and bought a copy for myself yesterday. I want to see it on my bookshelf, to be reminded of the story, of the characters. I want my daughters (who often borrow my books) to see this one and ask to borrow it. And in years time, hopefully my grandchildren will be requesting to read it too.
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Violet is the main character. It is her story, but she brings in two other characters who play a significant role in her story. A redemptive role. Harriet and Frank.
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Harriet and Frank are such decent people. That’s the one word that kept coming to mind as I read the book. Even after I finished the book, that word kept floating into my awareness.
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I looked it up on my Merriam/Webster dictionary app. “Decent: marked by moral integrity, kindness, and goodwill.”
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There are all kinds of negative adjectives that could describe Violet; and Harriet and Frank were aware of them. She had made a mistake. She had caused harm. It would have been so easy for Frank to lash out at her, hold her in contempt, seek vengeance. It would have been easy for Harriet to ignore her, distance herself, not get involved.
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But what I keep coming back to is that, within all they knew, Harriet and Frank still were able to see Violet as a person, a fellow creature. They could see themselves in her.
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This, I think, is what marked Harriet and Frank as people of integrity. As people who choose to be kind, to extend goodwill. They were the kind of people who could see other people as fellow creatures and were empathetic because of it.
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Early in the book, right at the outset, Harriet says to her bookclub members, “In order for reading to become an exercise in empathy, it helps to think of all the characters in all the books as fellow creatures.”
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I wonder if what she was really saying was that “in order for living to be an exercise in empathy, it helps to see all of the people—in all the ways we show up—as fellow creatures.”
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#howtoreadabook #wearefellowcreatures #choosekindness #extendgoodwill by @melynnerust

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6 days ago

Rabbit Rabbit!! Happy October!
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In this month may you find new ways to turn toward one another, to lean in when it would be so easy to lean out. May you notice that kindness and compassion and wisdom want to accompany you. May it be so.
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#rabbitrabbit #nurturethegood by @melynnerust

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17 days ago

Have you ever loved a home you had to let go of? A home you put your heart and soul into but that gave you her heart and soul in return? It’s been ten years (this month) since we all said goodbye to her. Now she’s back on the market, and it felt like it was time to put down in writing the backstory of our old beloved family home. The link to the story is in my bio.
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#oldhomelove #familyhome by @melynnerust

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a month ago

For all who mourn. For all who remember. For all who made a difference.
❤️‍🩹🤍💙
#9/11 #25years by @melynnerust

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a month ago

Rabbit Rabbit!!
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Happy September!!
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When I think about September I like to think about a new season, new beginnings, a new school year, crisp air and cooler temps, etc., etc. But in reality it feels like a bonk on the head. It’s still hot and humid down here, both day and night, the kids started school three weeks ago, already settled into their routines, it’s not even Labor Day yet, and the only thing “seasonal” going on is the heart of hurricane season is upon us.
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And yet, I also know, having lived here forty years now, that this is the month where the subtle shift begins to happen. It won’t feel like fall this month, but if I pay attention I will notice how the early morning temps will slowly drift downward. Instead of 77 or 78, I’ll wake up one morning this month and it will be 76 or even 75. And I’ll know it. If I pay attention I’ll be able to feel that subtle difference. The following week may be 74. And it will give me hope that fall *will* really come eventually. The same with the sun and the way the light angles in through my windows. Such a subtle shift, almost imperceptible, but if I’m paying attention, if I’m looking for it, then I can pick up on the signs that cooler, more comfortable days are on the way.
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This month may you notice the subtle shifts that are occurring, the way the light angles in, the hope that is there just beyond the horizon. May you reach for it. May you abide in it. May it be so.
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#rabbitrabbit
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*Illustration by Penny Dale in her book ‘Ten In The Bed’, 1988. by @melynnerust

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2 months ago

Today is my book’s 6 month birthday! 🎉 🎈🥰
‘The Things That Saved Me’ is a story about noticing the gifts our younger selves want to offer us, noticing the threads of light that can come from our own old stories, noticing how when we make room for our younger selves, they can show up for us in ways that breathe grace and wisdom and light into our current realities.
💝💝
Happy 6 month birthday little book! May you continue to breathe light into the darkness.
💖✨
#thethingsthatsavedme
#breathelightintoyourstory #nurturethegood by @melynnerust

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2 months ago

Oh. My. Word. The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. It was so hot today I waited until 8:00 tonight to take River and Teddy for their evening walk. And even then, it was still almost 90 degrees (105 feels like) with 80% humidity. Our only saving grace was the sun was laid low.
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#augustinfloridaisbrutal by @melynnerust

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2 months ago

My first flower from my resurrected hibiscus plant that I thought had died in the hard freeze last January down here in Florida. In March I pruned off all that died and cut it back to less than two feet, hoping perhaps it might come back. Then in late April I started to see some growth from the ground (pic2). And now it’s flowering. Never underestimate the life that lives beneath the surface.
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#hopespringseternal #dontjudgeabookbyitscover by @melynnerust

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2 months ago

Rabbit Rabbit!
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Happy August!
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This month may you find unexpected gifts in unexpected places. May it be so.
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#rabbitrabbit by @melynnerust

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3 months ago

I’ve got my book reading sorted for the month of July! A little ambitious for me, but three holds from the library all came in at the same time! Ack! So I’ve added them to my stack. And then just this week I joined a new bookclub at the local bookshop and our first read is Alice in Wonderland (can you believe I’ve never read it?!), so I’ve added that to my stack too. Has anyone read Whistler, Ann Patchett’s new novel, yet? (It currently has 93 holds at my library 😱 so I’m glad I got in the queue when I did 🤓).
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#summertimereading #librarybooks #myfavoritepasttime by @melynnerust

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3 months ago

Rabbit Rabbit!!
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Happy July!
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As things keep heating up, may we all find ways to cool down. May it be so.
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#staycool #keepyourcool #eatfrozengrapes #rabbitrabbit
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*Illustration by Susan LaBelle, circa 1989. by @melynnerust

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4 months ago