Hello! My name is Jackie and I’m delighted to welcome you to my page and to share with you a little about myself. I am a writer, philosopher (of sorts), and a lover of so many wonderful things this life has to offer: art, music, literature, good food, nature, people, Jesus, coffee and community. And as someone who has experienced deep grief and tragedies in life, I am also a person eager to find hope and joy in the everyday journey, beyond life’s hardships. Life is always teaching, always enticing us to grow in maturity, wisdom and strength. To respond to life’s invitation for growth takes courage. My hope is to inspire and fuel that courage in my readers.
On a more intimate note, I am the (surprisingly still-sane) mother of five amazing (and nearly grown) children and I have been married to my high-school sweetheart for more than 21 years. We live and work and play in the intensely rural state of Wyoming, which has truly been a gift. We relish the freedom, adventure in the expansive natural environment, and close-knit community this state gives us. My investment in higher education did not begin until the birth of my 5th child. As a result, the process was a slow one, spanning more than 10 years. I finished graduate school, earning my MA in English Literature, and published my thesis (Progressive Domesticity: Edith Wharton’s Moral Aesthetic and the Merit of Home) in the spring of 2020. Yes, right in the throws of early pandemic chaos. In addition, I have worked in ministry for over 15 years, serving in multiple capacities. For the last 20 years my life has been saturated with devotion to family, faith, community and some incredibly rich art and story.
To read more about me and this site, click the link!