HI THERE! I'M BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI, FREELANCE WRITER, HISTORICAL RESEARCHER, & PERPETUAL SEEKER OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. WELCOME TO MY SPACE WHERE I SHARE THE BOOKS I'M READING, MY SPIRITUAL FINDINGS, FLOWERS IN MY GARDEN, AND LOST STORIES. ALL ARE WELCOME HERE.
I like to follow the breadcrumbs of authors I admire. If an author quotes another or happens to really like a certain book or person then I investigate whomever they suggest. St. John of the Cross is one of those breadcrumbs. I’m so excited to read his work. This book is 800 pages, not exactly … Continue reading The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross
My daughter (age 10) and I have been doing a lot of reading together lately. The other night she read me this wonderful book by @charliemackesy . As the author explains, it is a book you can start in the middle, the end, or the beginning. My daughter wrote a wonderful write up about it … Continue reading The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse by Charlie Mackesy
These are my contemplative thoughts, you might disagree and that’s OK! . . “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17 Faith in Latin is fides which was one of the highest and most honorable virtues in Ancient Rome among the people involved in public affairs. Fides was a form of trust and an unwavering … Continue reading The Book of Romans
Catching up with my old friend today, Mr. W. Somerset Maugham. His short stories are just as entertaining as his novels. This is a collection of some of his earliest work. . . Today I read The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian. “The duke and his wife, who was not his duchess, lay side by side … Continue reading Seventeen Lost Stories of W. Somerset Maugham
Today is Good Friday! I feel so much joy today I can barely contain myself. My heart feels so full of love, as if it glows. The light of Jerusalem seems to be with me today. Do you ever feel this way? “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer … Continue reading The Book of Nehemiah on Good Friday
Contemplative Vision by Juliet Benner is a book about contemplating religious art with prayer in mind and using it to expand our prayer life by gazing at the face of God through it, seeing His face and meditating about the art’s purpose/story, and the artist’s time creating it. The book discusses using art as a … Continue reading Contemplative Vision by Juliet Benner
I thought time in quarantine would allow me moments of quiet reflection, new creative projects, and the ability to find myself, but instead I seem to be lost. The anxious energy of the world is such that it has penetrated not only my home but my peaceful mind and spirit. The darkness has sought out … Continue reading The Book of Ezra
Just turned in the manuscript I’ve been writing about the Poletown neighborhood in Detroit for The History Press!! Can’t wait to see it on the shelves!! Time to catch up on my reading and quietly celebrate—alone. .
For months I did my own personal study on tears, because I was crying everyday for various reasons, mostly for other people. Not really knowing what would come of it, I began journaling my experience and realized that my tears for others and tears for my family were a form of contemplative prayer for them. … Continue reading Tears Today
A SONG OF FREEDOM by Alice Mulligan . . . In Cavan of little lakes / As I was walking with the wind / And no one seen beside me there / There came a song into my mind / It came as if the whispered voice / of one, but none of human kind … Continue reading Irish Poem…
BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI 