"The Secret Scripture"

The Secret Scripture (2008), shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and winner of the 2008 Costa Book of the Year Award is a truly amazing book. I thank my dear friend Kathy for telling me about it at this time when I am heading off to the very region in which the novel is set - the northwest of Ireland.

The weaving of our lives and our connections. Choices made and consequences. The haunting of the past.

Sebastian Barry is a brilliant writer - his voice transports me to Ireland. Certainly not the Ireland of the Irish Tourist Board but of a place rich in the history of its forgotten people. A land rich in stories - what will my story be?

Envisioning our dream...

For the past month I have been taking action to make my dreams come true - I am going Home - I am moving to Ireland. As Tony, my real estate agent in Leitrim said to me over the phone: "Just come home...come home to Ireland and we'll sort it out."

One has to have faith - Big Faith at a time such as this. Here I am 58, no savings account, no property to sell, no cushy pension. But here is what I do have:

1. Confidence that I have so much goodness to offer Ireland that She will find a way for me to live and to contribute.
2. Confidence in myself because I know dreams don't happen without lots of action and I am an action-oriented person.
3. Friends in Ireland to help me - to point me in the direction I need to go to get my questions answered.

It's all a great and glorious adventure! I refuse to die with regrets!

[Photo of Beanna Bo (Benbo) Mountain, Co. Leitrim - thank you, Nuala McNulty!]