My MariaShriver.com Essay: “Celebrating the Motherly Love We Find in Surprising Places Along Our Journey: 5 Lessons From an 87-Year-Old Nun”

“Nothing trumps motherly love, even when the wisdom and advice being given is from an 87-year-old cloistered nun. At age 31, lost and confused at a crucial crossroads in my life, I met Sister Augustine, a ceramics artist who had been long hidden away from the world on the grounds of the oldest Benedictine convent in the U.S.

Life throws a lot at us — fear, anger, failure, jealousy, rejection, anxiety, chaos, you name it — which threatens to stop us cold in our tracks. As I recount in my memoir, Five Years in Heaven, Sister Augustine guided me along the pathway to transcending my darkest moments. She helped me to realize how each setback or stumble we face is actually an opportunity to discover what we’re really made of. And to begin anew.

During our hundreds of visits in the humble studio and shop she started in the 1960s, my friend revealed the following five ways to confront challenges and hardships. She proved that mentorship and a maternal touch go hand-in-hand, and how the building blocks of peace and happiness are always within our reach.”

To read my full essay, please click HERE.