Recent News; "Authentic Friendship," Abby Johnson and Lent

Well, I've been pretty light in posting on the blog this month.  Real life has been especially busy, and I find that the beginning of Lent is a low-energy time for me.  Maybe it's because I'm without the staff of life--chocolate?  That's my excuse, anyway.

In any case, I have been busy writing, though, as well as doing some behind-the-scenes work on the blog.  In the last edition of The Catholic Post, I had two news articles.

I told a few friends that I was amazed at how long it took me to write these articles, when I used to write multiple articles in a day, no problem.  Of course, back then, I didn't have a husband, children or a household to keep running.   Part of it too was that I was in the habit of doing so, and could easily crank out a lot of words easily.  Writing news stories takes a lot longer these days for me.  But I did enjoy the challenge.

Let me share first The Catholic Post link to my article on Abby Johnson's appearance at St. Jude in Dunlap.  I saw many familiar faces there, and it was great to catch up, as well as get the chance to interview Abby before her talk and get the scoop on her new book (of course I asked) called The Walls are Talking.

Here are a few of my photos from the event:

Here is Abby giving her talk.

Here is a photo I submitted to The Post, but that didn't make it in, of Abby signing a book for Anne Whitmore, a member of St. Jude parish and a friend of mine.  Anne and Abby were both good sports about "acting natural" for the paper.

Here is a sadly too dark--even after editing--photo of Bonnie Engstrom with Abby.

And here's another too dark one, and blurry, photo of Bonnie and Abby.

And here's yet another (dark) photo of the beautiful Marcia, and her beautiful daughter.

Clearly, I need to get a major tutorial from my husband on how to use his camera.  He let me borrow it that evening.  Whenever he takes photos with it, they look like from a professional photographer.    When I use it, all that I get is ....bad cell phone snaps.

Did you go to the Abby Johnson talk?  What did you think about it?

Soon, I will post about my other story for The Catholic Post this month.

Author Abby Johnson in Peoria this Week

Abby Johnson, author and speaker, will be in the Peoria area this week, and I for one am very excited to hear her speak.  She will be speaking at St. Jude Church in Peoria this Tuesday, February 5, at 7 p.m.  If you're interested in attending, you can contact the parish for more information.

"Prayer, friendship and conversion are at the heart of a new must-read," as I wrote in my 2011 review of Johnson's memoir, UnPlanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line (you can read the entire review here).

This book is a great read for teens on up, perhaps especially for teens and young adults.  As I wrote in my review, Unplanned raises a lot of questions about how young people can be formed as people of life:


Young people are in a kind of “sensitive period” in their late teens to mid 20s when values and life course are being set.  How do we direct their natural idealism and energy to the culture of life, instead of the opposite?

Johnson’s conversion happened in a moment, but UnPlanned makes clear it was the sustained effort of many people praying, fasting and acts of friendship for and to her that made that moment possible.

I did an online Q&A with Abby that you can read here in case you're getting ready for her talk.

I'm especially looking forward to hearing Abby tell in person how she was "loved from one side to the other."   I'm also intrigued to hear about the new initiative she has begun, "And Then There Were None," to help  abortion industry workers leave the industry.  Abby recently became a LIFE Runner (like me!) so I hope to connect with her there about that.

Will you be there?  Is there an author you would like to hear speak in person?