Publisher's Synopsis
"You have been invited to attend a retreat at the author's lakeside cottage. This will be an "armchair retreat" because it doesn't require your physical presence-- just the presence of your mind and imagination." Thus begins one of the sixteen introductions by Robert Kolb to introduce the reader to each of Janice Gray Kolb's published works. While this book is an introduction to Jan's prolific writings, it is also a tribute to her husband, "Green Bob," who not only typed each of Jan's handwritten manuscripts, but penned his own thoughtful es-says to introduce the key thoughts to the reader and to ponder the inspirations of each work. The main themes in Jan's work can be gleaned from her book titles and subtitles: compassion for all of God's creatures, including eating a vegetarian diet; emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing through journal writing; the effects of parental child abuse; the loss of loved ones and coping with personal grief; and contemplative meditations intermingled with her powerful visual poetry. To know Jan is also to know her beloved feline companion, Rochester, who sat with her on the window ledge as she wrote her early works, and then, after his passing, continued to inspire her writings with his spirit-presence. Jan also writes in her introduction of her enduring love for Bob while alive, and Bob's several after-life visitations to her after his passing. These special events are a testament to their special life-long love and continuing connection to each other beyond time and space. Jan still lives in their retirement cottage, hidden in the woods beside a lake, where the two of them spent quiet days and evening meals for many years---the Thoreaus of our day. Consider this little volume their guiding north star.
