Sophia's Table
Women's Wisdom in Five Voices
by
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We have benefitted from writing within our circle and from reading our work aloud. We nudge one another to keep going until we find the voice, the focus, and the details that convey our experience more authentically and effectively. We are grateful for that gift and for the opportunity to publish our writing together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
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About the Book
Sophia's Table has emerged from the first contemplative writing series I offered. Four women writers joined me for what was to be a six-week series. At the completion of the series, they decided to continue on a monthly basis for six months, then again, and once again. The work became more personal as the women's trust deepened into friendship over the course of the year in which they shared their stories. All of us have found writing to be central to leading healthy, balanced lives; to gaining fresh perspective; and to finding meaning and purpose. Each of us has a distinct voice pitched and toned by her unique life experience. Yet Sophia’s Table is more than a collection of voices. The production of the book itself is a true collaboration of time and talent, engaging the gifts of each of us to bring the book to publication.
About the Author
Kathy Zamonski is a poet with work included in an anthology, Grailville Poets and a self-published work called Many Deaths, One Life. She has written for a newspaper in Detroit, MI and has written and edited a monthly church newsletter for 20+ years. Mostly, Kathy writes for her own mental health and spiritual growth. She has a masters degree in religious studies from the University of Dayton. Linda A. Marshall’s “System’s Analysis of the Apostle Paul” was published in the University of Dayton’s Explorations: Journal for Adventurous Thought and New Testament Perspectives. She contributed a monthly column to Single Source News and contributed and edited a monthly newsletter, Conscious Relating. She is in the process of writing her memoir, A Long Awakening to Grace. She has a master of divinity degree from United Theological Seminary. Journaling has provided the foundation of her spiritual practice and prayer life. Dodi Matheny Wozniak is retired from teaching special needs children, having studied at Miami University in Ohio and Marygrove College in Detroit in special education and the art of teaching. Included in this collection is a paper she wrote as a part of her master’s thesis that was highly received, called “My Views on the State of Education.” Ms. Woz, as she was lovingly called by her students, caught the “genealogy bug” at about age 11 and researching her family history is her current avocation. Marty Davis Cottrill has a degree in elementary education and has worked as a classroom teacher and text book editor. She has written articles and columns for local magazines and newspapers, “thoughts for the day” for radio, and poetry for friends and family. As family historian, she has written two books: The House That David Built (2005) and The Beers-Brown-Grove Families of North Columbus, Ohio (2013). She finds that writing opens her heart to what has been, what is, and what’s next. Karen Ander Francis was a contributing editor for Pathways for Spiritual Living, writing a quarterly column called “Sophia’s Table.” She is the author of On the Edge of the Known World: Prayer and PTSD and The Soul Friend: Spiritual Direction with Adults Abused as Children. The insight and depth of Ms. Francis’ inspirational writing has been compared with that of Madeleine L’Engle and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. She holds a Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Psychology.