My Soul Feels Lean by Joyce Rupp

My Soul Feels Lean is a journey into compassion. Drawing on insights from her Christian faith and her lifelong connection to the Iowa farmland of her birth, Joyce Rupp explores themes of loss and restoration in this luminous collection of poems. Returning to an undercurrent in all her work since the publication of Praying Our Goodbyes, Rupp offers here sensitive insights on the pain of loss and the renewal she finds when she is willing to let go and trust. Rupp's leanness of soul has taught her to observe and celebrate the harsh beauty of life. "Loss has encouraged me to find joy and meaning here instead of pining for it elsewhere, to live more simply and be content with less, to appreciate more fully what I now have." Rupp interlaces threads of loneliness, fear, disenchantment, and sorrow with strands of gratitude, patience, expectation, and joy: the result is a tapestry of hope and resilience. Each poem is an invitation to awareness of the present moment and the power of revitalizing grace.