Wide Spot: an internal opening created by the convergence of heart and word.

I wrote my first book about three months after I started reading, enchanted by the written word that could create whole new worlds. I wanted to weave that magic, too.

Sixty-odd years later, I am still trying to conjure life out of words. I know that the right words can ripen my heart, root me in deeper reality, and reveal the shining effervescence in which we live, and move, and have our being. So I write to express the sacredness—the unimaginable depth and joy and sorrow—of daily life. I write because I long to turn that which is half-dead into dancing and that which is skin-deep into fathomless mystery.

Here’s what you’ll find on this website:

“Hands Like Roots” is a book-length collection of essays which trace the uneven/hilarious/heartbreaking path of growth in spiritual life.

The “Writings” page contains “Wide Spot,” the accumulated short, never-mention-God essays that I write monthly for the Valley Voice newspaper; and “Stillpoints,” which covers a broad territory: bears, consciousness, Alzheimer’s, St. Francis of Assisi, skinny dipping, and Eucharist, to name a few. Sprinkled throughout all this writing are podcasts offering contemplative practices or a spoken-word version of a given essay.

The other pages— “About,” “Calendar,” “Collaborations”—should be self-explanatory. If you’re interested in more information, just email me here. I’m happy to share retreat outlines and practices.

You can help me defray the costs of keeping all this material available by donating to Therese’s Wide Spot. Located on the bottom of each page is an email address to which you can send an e-transfer. (However, e-transfers only work for Canadians.) Alternatively, you can send a cheque of any nationality to the address listed there. And whether you donate or not, please feel free to use what you find here. All I ask is attribution—because I wrote all this for you.