THE WAY BACK TO OURSELVES
Literary Journal
The Spring Collection 2024: RENAISSANCE
I T ‘ S H E R E !
M A S T H E A D:
Editors: Sarah Steele, Kimberly Kralovic, and Ashley Whittemore
Founder and Editor-in-Chief: Kimberly Phinney
RENAISSANCE (n.)- a renewal or rebirth; a new growth or burst of activity; a revival of the old or lost; a period of vigorous artistic and intellectual productivity
The Way Back to Ourselves is humbled to present a chorus of voices in our FOURTH publication. This beautiful collection is still just the beginning of what we hope to achieve as a community of faithful creatives. So, won’t you join us in welcoming these talented artists? Please, read widely. Comment. Encourage. Share. Connect. Some of our writers are quite established with multiple publications and awards, while other writers are newer voices with something powerful to say. We believe in nurturing both. Each piece brings a celebration for the human experience, the natural world, and a creator God. And together, they call us back to ourselves— back to quiet, meaning, and awe.
We hope you enjoy this RENAISSANCE and the MORE THAN FIFTY talented writers that lie herein. May they stir you AWAKE, push you toward FAITH, and beckon you to live the CREATIVE life God destined for you.
MAY YOU FEEL A REBIRTH SIMMERING IN YOUR SOUL.
A Butterfly’s Advice and Other Poems
In her three poems, Grace Shaw, invokes a Mary Oliver-like spirit as she meditates on nature and its spiritual gifts.
The Artist
In his moving short story, “The Artist,” Zaher Alajlani, tells an unlikely revival story through the life of Cristian, a lovelorn youth.
To the Daffodil Growing in the Shade of the Cypress Tree and Other Poems
In her poetry, Carreen Raynor explores themes of growth, survival, and beauty through nature.
To Dive Again and Other Poems
In her poems, Alexis Ragan explores the depths of the human experience and God’s saving grace.
April Crowns and Other Poems
In his poetry, Steven Searcy explores fatherhood and faith through the beauty of nature and innocence.
Finding Your Worth Through Awakening
In her essay “Finding Your Worth Through Awakening,” Kimberly Kralovic deep dives into mental health and anxiety and shares the redeeming message of God’s rescuing.
Loss to Gain
In her poem “Loss to Gain,” Ashley Whittemore learns there is great and unexpected beauty in loss.
I Stay and Other Poems
In her poetry, Julie Priebbenow writes about the complexities of life and death and her ultimate choice of faith over suffering.
The Orange Tree
In her poem “The Orange Tree,” Tiana Minks uses the evocative metaphor of an orange tree to communicate the human experience of depression in light of a God who saves.
From Life to Death to Life and Other Poems
In her poetry, Sarah Steele writes about revival, prayer, and journeys through evocative nature and color imagery.
Rekindled
In her poem “Rekindled,” Stephanie Nygaard captures God’s delivery and light in a season of difficulty.
Mountain Laurel Living
In her poem “Mountain Laurel Living,” Bethany Peck writes about loss, suffering, and faith through the metaphor of the Mountain Laurel.
Cat Nap Revival and Other Poems
In her poetry, Elizabeth Hudgens writes about longing, perseverance, and revival through creative metaphors.
Holy Spirit, Help
Nathaniel Evans poem, “Holy Spirit, Help,” reads like a fervent prayer, as he asks God’s Holy Spirit to help him through his faith walk and the difficulties of this life.
Despite My Father, I Believe
In her vulnerable personal narrative “Despite My Father, I Believe,” Lara d’Entremont writes about a difficult childhood with her father and the healing journey God has led her on over the years.
A Brutal Love
In “A Brutal Love,” poet Kimberly Phinney writes about her harrowing journey through severe illness and the spiritual epiphany she experienced in her garden that helped bring her back to life.
Dreams, Death, and Legacy: A Personal Essay
In her personal essay, “Dreams, Death, and Legacy,” writer and activist Gabriella Badmus processes her grief after the passing of her grandparents and looks to her faith and the future as ways to honor them.
Sight + Sound
In her poem “Sight + Sound,” Clare Weigel takes her readers on an emotional journey, as she grapples with the difficulties and blessings of experiencing life as a woman who is deafblind.
Willow and Other Poems
In her delightful poems “Willow,” “Paper Hearts,” and “Mundane,” artist and writer Danielle Robbins mediates on the quiet life and her path toward self-compassion and peace.
Haikus for Hadley
In “Haikus for Hadley,” poet Kimberly Phinney teams up with her young daughter to write four heartwarming haikus about motherhood and longing through infertility.
Start your journey.
It starts today— in the small steps you take, the hands you hold, the prayers you say, and the hard things you conquer…
The way back isn’t as far as you think.
COUNSELING AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS COMING IN 2024…