At Home in This Life, Interview with Author Jerusalem Greer!

I’ve gushed about Jerusalem on this blog before. We’ve never met in real life, but I really can’t wait for the day she comes to San Antonio. I’m going to march her right over to Bird Bakery so we can eat cupcakes and share stories. In the meantime, these “virtual chats” are a fun way to get to know one another. I know you’ll enjoy this chat as much as I did. She’s an artist in so many ways.

Traci: Tell us a little bit about your inspiration behind At Home in This Life. What story did you feel like you needed to tell? Who do you think should read it and why? 

Jerusalem: At Home in this Life is not the book I set out to write, but it was the book I needed to write. It was the story I needed to live and then tell. I thought I was going to write a fluffy happy book about combining Benedictine monastic practices with ordinary domestic chores – and to some extent that is the book I wrote – but it went much deeper and was much messier than I ever intended.  This book is the story of how everything I thought would make me happy fell apart, and how I found peace at the intersection of mess and brokenness and beauty and happy surprises, when I decided to give God’s plan a try instead of forcing my own. I think anyone who is wishing that their life was something different than it is should read this book, because ultimately – no matter who we are or where we live, we have to learn how to water the grass beneath our feet instead of always seeking greener pastures.

Traci: #notgonnalie, when I see your Instagram posts of your gorgeous farmhouse and your amazing kitchen and your sense of style that includes magazine worthy cookouts  I think to myself “I want that life!” I struggle with that sometimes on social media, seeing other people’s lives and wondering how my own life measures up. One of the things I love about At Home in this Life is now it dives in to some of the challenges you’ve overcome in living the life you want to live. What encouragement do you have for me and other readers who feel overwhelmed by the pressure to do it all and be perfect? 

Jerusalem: Everyone – probably even Martha Stewart – looks at parts of other people’s lives and pines for what they have.  I think that is just a normal part of human existence. The trick is to not become so defined and driven by what you want or what you lack, that you miss all the goodness of what you have.  It’s the old trap of comparing your insides to someone else’s outsides.  I talk a lot about spiritual practices (or disciplines) in the book, and whenever I give a talk or a workshop about these practices I like to remind people there is a reason why they are called spiritual practices and not spiritual perfections. It’s because we all have to practice them in order to get better at them. And some practices – areas of our lives, behaviors, patterns of thought, design skills etc – take longer for us to master than they do for our neighbor. The idea that everyone should be proficient in everything is just nutso. If it makes anyone feel better I stink at cleaning baseboards and exercise.   

Traci: At Home in this Life is more personal and vulnerable than your first book A Homemade Year is it hard to tell your story and know that so many readers will be peering in to your life? Do you have any vulnerability hangovers now that the book is published? 

Jerusalem: Ha! Nope. I generally am on the other end of the spectrum – I worry that I haven’t been vulnerable or transparent enough.  Which is why my husband Nathan reads everything I write first – he is my B.S. meter. He is the one who tells me if I am putting lipstick on a pig, glossing over the hard parts, spinning something to be better than it was or not digging deep enough.

Traci: Along with the book, you’ve worked to curate a whole collection of on trend and fun items to go along with the book. Tell us about the process of finding the artists, curating it, and how it’s doing. 

Jerusalem: Most of the artist are either women I know, or women who were recommended to me. Women whose art and designs I just adore. The collection came about because (as you will read in the laundry chapter) I am a bit of a “stuff” person and I love cute things. (I will never be a minimalist!) But what I really love is cute things that have some meaning – that convey messages of beauty, hope, joy, peace and so on.  The idea was to create a collection based on the words of At Home in this Life an as interrupted by these artist. I am so in awe of their talent and I love every item in the collection – which all make great gifts btw! [Traci Note: I can attest to this! Jerusalem sent me the sweetest mending kit from the collection when her book was released. Love, love, love it!] 

 Traci: What’s your actual writing process like? I imagine you cheffing up some farm fresh eggs and coffee and sitting down at your kitchen table to write before the sun rises, inspiration flowing out for hours, but I know how hard writing can be, too. What time of day do you like to write? Do you have any inspiration or words of wisdom for others who want to publish their own stories? 

Jerusalem: For better or for worse, I write in the margins. Sometimes I do write in the bucolic setting, and other days (like right now for instance) I write in nondescript airports in between speaking gigs. I write on my couch, in my bed, in coffee shops and upstairs at my parents’ house. Sometimes I go away for a week and get a chunk done but that is the exception, not the rule. Generally I am writing whenever I can find enough time to turn on my computer and sit down. And sometimes inspiration flows, and sometimes I just stare at the screen until I can’t take it anymore and give-up.

The only advice I would give aspiring writers is to try and figure out (if you can) why you want to be published writer… Is it to be a conduit of information? Is it to inspire? Is it because you just enjoy it? Is it as springboard to being a speaker? Is it because you love storytelling? There are a lot of ways to approach writing, and the sooner you figure out why you want to write, the quicker you can find a support system in the writing community – which is extremely helpful!

Where can readers get the book and items from the Etsy collection? 

The book is available on Amazon and B&N and for large orders (for book clubs etc) make sure to visit Paracelete Press. To view the whole Curated Collection go HERE

WIN A COPY of At Home in this Life! Paraclete Press has generously offered a copy of At Home in this Life to Faithful Families readers! If you’re interested in winning, just write a comment on the pinned Facebook Post to enter! Deadline to enter is Sunday, July 30th at NOON CST!

 

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