On The Universal Journey ... Home
Home is a state of being. Whether we are 15, 35, 65 or 80, we are all seeking that special place that says ‘you’re home’—not necessarily a physical domain, but a sense of belonging and ease.
In my first book, Nest Building, I focused on physical environments and the emotional, familial and cultural influences we inadvertently bring to the paint shop.
My new book, Talking To Myself, is a novel. It tells the story of two women—Lyn in her fifties and Cait in her twenties—who, like most of us, are on a perpetual life quest to find their way home. By that I mean seeking that state of peace, comfort, confidence and contentment we associate with ‘feeling at home’.
‘Finding ourselves’, ‘coming home’, ‘getting comfortable in our own skins’ … are universal pursuits whether we are spiritual, religious, social, alone, rich, poor, young, or old and, for the most part, they are moving targets as our lives, experiences and priorities waffle around us. Who am I? Where do I belong?
For Lyn, my older character, she’s seeking reassurance from her past to feel at home in her present. Cait, on the other hand, is looking to her future in search of her place in the world as determined by her vocation, relationships and goals.
Although they are approaching their quests from different perspectives influenced by age, generation, history and popular culture, they soon discover they have more in common than not. Age is no guarantee of wisdom any more than youth is a guarantee of folly. Patterns in life repeat themselves … over and over and over again until someone—or something—shines a new light on our behaviors and habits and finally we see them for what they are and have the opportunity to change them or stick with them.
Either way, everyone is on their own path, sometimes running parallel, sometimes intersecting. In Talking To Myself, Lyn and Cait do a bit of both and, like the rest of us in the race, they inch their way closer to ‘home’ with every step and revelation.
Talking To Myself is distributed by Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble as an e-Book. Visit Books by Kate Bridger for more details.
