Feb 27, 2018
Jenny
is a walking miracle... with the help of prostheses. Jenny
became extremely ill in early 2014, which resulted in losing parts
of her legs and use of one of her hands. Jenny truly believes it
was her community that kept her alive.
Jenny
began writing about her experience during her recovery and those
reflections are now a book, "Held Together", filled with poems,
prose and essays about a village coming together, suffering
together, celebrating together, and falling in love together. You
see, the book is not just Jenny's writing, but that of her
community, as she's asked them to contribute their perspectives of
this experience as well.
In this episode, Jenny
talks about falling asleep on the first trip to the desert and
going from the 'green' of northern California, to what appeared to
be 'the moon' and wondering who would possibly live here and what
they would do with their time.
Prior
to her near-death experience, Jenny came to live in the desert in
2000, on the condition it would be for one year. The partner she
arrived with has long since left, but Jenny remained with her
daughter and opened a storefront for her herbals and tinctures
called Grateful Desert, where you can find everything from handmade
soaps, to chocolates, to locally poured candles.
Jenny
has left and come back, in many ways, and is ever grateful to be
back among the community that kept her and her family held
together.
Mentioned in this episode: