Sue Monk Kidd on The Longings of Our Heart

Sue Monk Kidd was raised in the small town of Sylvester, Georgia, a place that deeply influenced the writing of her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees. Her 1990 book, When the Heart Waits, has become a touchstone on contemplative spirituality. Sue serves on the Writers Council for Poets & Writers, Inc and is well known for her work in feminist theology. Her new book is a novel called, The Book of Longings.

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In This Interview, Sue Monk Kidd and I discuss Longings of our Heart and…

Her book, The Book of Longings
That what you pay attention to will either devour you or save you because we become what we pay attention to
The particular genius that dwells in every person
How she first decided that she wanted to write fiction when she was in her 40s
Asking the prayer that’s at the bottom of your heart
How being visible and being audible in the world is a choice to express the largeness that’s inside each of us
That we can nurture the largeness in another person, even if the largeness is inconvenient for us
God as an essence that lives everywhere, the being-ness in our midst
The many ways we conceptualize and thereby connect with God
Why suffering results in increased kindness in some while it hardens others
The role of vulnerability in our personal growth
When her therapist told her that the pain won’t kill you but the running from it might.
What it means to “let life be” when both beautiful and terrible things happen
Radical acceptance
How the path to healing is right through the wound
Facing our pain so our soul can metabolize it and we can move through it and move on
What it means to be a mother beyond having actual children
The middle places in life where the waiting and the work happens
Her writing process
The silence beneath her words
Her life as a prayer
How letting go is not a one-time thing
That life is like a spiral

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