THE WAY BACK TO OURSELVES

Literary Journal

The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal Presents:

COMING FALL 2024…

M A S T H E A D:

Editors: Sarah Steele, Kimberly Kralovic, and Ashley Whittemore

Founder and Editor-in-Chief: Kimberly Phinney

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

MAY YOU HEAR THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS SPEAK INTO YOUR SOUL.

Listen to the poets of the Spring Collection: Renaissance read their work with our NEW podcast, The Poetry Corner from The Way Back Podcast, hosted by Edward L. Holmes II and Deidre Braley.

The Artist
short story Kimberly Phinney short story Kimberly Phinney

The Artist

In his moving short story, “The Artist,” Zaher Alajlani, tells an unlikely revival story through the life of Cristian, a lovelorn youth.

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Loss to Gain
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Loss to Gain

In her poem “Loss to Gain,” Ashley Whittemore learns there is great and unexpected beauty in loss.

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The Orange Tree
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

The Orange Tree

In her poem “The Orange Tree,” Tiana Minks uses the evocative metaphor of an orange tree to communicate the human experience of depression in light of a God who saves.

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Rekindled
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Rekindled

In her poem “Rekindled,” Stephanie Nygaard captures God’s delivery and light in a season of difficulty.

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Mountain Laurel Living
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Mountain Laurel Living

In her poem “Mountain Laurel Living,” Bethany Peck writes about loss, suffering, and faith through the metaphor of the Mountain Laurel.

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Holy Spirit, Help
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Holy Spirit, Help

Nathaniel Evans poem, “Holy Spirit, Help,” reads like a fervent prayer, as he asks God’s Holy Spirit to help him through his faith walk and the difficulties of this life.

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A Brutal Love
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

A Brutal Love

In “A Brutal Love,” poet Kimberly Phinney writes about her harrowing journey through severe illness and the spiritual epiphany she experienced in her garden that helped bring her back to life.

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Dreams, Death, and Legacy: A Personal Essay
essay Kimberly Phinney essay Kimberly Phinney

Dreams, Death, and Legacy: A Personal Essay

In her personal essay, “Dreams, Death, and Legacy,” writer and activist Gabriella Badmus processes her grief after the passing of her grandparents and looks to her faith and the future as ways to honor them.

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Sight + Sound
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Sight + Sound

In her poem “Sight + Sound,” Clare Weigel takes her readers on an emotional journey, as she grapples with the difficulties and blessings of experiencing life as a woman who is deafblind.

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Willow and Other Poems
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Willow and Other Poems

In her delightful poems “Willow,” “Paper Hearts,” and “Mundane,” artist and writer Danielle Robbins mediates on the quiet life and her path toward self-compassion and peace.

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Haikus for Hadley
poetry Kimberly Phinney poetry Kimberly Phinney

Haikus for Hadley

In “Haikus for Hadley,” poet Kimberly Phinney teams up with her young daughter to write four heartwarming haikus about motherhood and longing through infertility.

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It starts today— in the small steps you take, the hands you hold, the prayers you say, the art you make, and the hard things you conquer… The way back isn’t as far as you think.

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