{"id":5995,"date":"2013-01-10T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-10T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breyeschow\/?p=5995"},"modified":"2013-01-10T15:46:52","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T22:46:52","slug":"my-interview-with-maryann-mckibben-dana-about-sabbath-in-the-suburbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breyeschow\/2013\/01\/10\/my-interview-with-maryann-mckibben-dana-about-sabbath-in-the-suburbs\/","title":{"rendered":"My Interview with MaryAnn McKibben Dana about “Sabbath in the Suburbs”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I am a firm\u00a0believer\u00a0in building community by helping good folks get the word about projects that they are working on. Today, I want to help spread the word about MaryAnn McKibben Dana and her new book, Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family\u2019s Experiment with Holy Time<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. I have met MaryAnn a handful of times in person, but, like many relationships these days I know her mostly through online interaction and many mutual friends. I have not yet read the book, but I am\u00a0intrigued\u00a0even more knowing MaryAnn a little better.<\/p>\n

Here is my \u201cinterview\u201d with\u00a0MaryAnn McKibben Dana.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who is MaryAnn McKibben Dana?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m a writer, mother of three, haphazard knitter, and a slow but determined runner. I like to make lists, and muffins, and lists of muffins.<\/p>\n

I lead workshops and retreats on various topics, and I blog at The Blue Room<\/a><\/strong>, which is still my favorite venue writing-wise.\u00a0I\u2019m also a Presbyterian pastor, but I think my inner child is Quaker. I\u2019m married to a preacher\u2019s kid, which means I\u2019m the only person in my house who isn\u2019t a PK.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elevator speech time . . . what is Sabbath in the Suburbs about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part memoir, part spiritual reflection, part practical guide, Sabbath in the Suburbs<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is about our family\u2019s experience of taking a day-long Sabbath every week\u2014a time when we stopped all work, striving, hurrying and producing and focused on play and rest. It\u2019s about our family\u2019s cobbled-together successes and our flat-on-our-face failures.\u00a0It\u2019s a book for people who sense the dysfunction in our 24-7 world but need some inspiration and some realistic help to do something about it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also told it\u2019s funny.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What inspired you to write Sabbath in the Suburbs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like many writers, I wrote the book that I wanted to read. There are plenty of books out there [here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>]\u00a0about Sabbath-keeping and \u201cfinding balance.\u201d But most of them address the\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0rather than the\u00a0how<\/em>. I was fully convinced of the\u00a0need\u00a0<\/em>for rest and play; I just couldn\u2019t figure out how to\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0it, what with careers and kids and errands and homework and housework, and\u2026 and\u2026 and. Not to mention the ever-buzzing smartphones, constantly demanding our attention.<\/p>\n

What were some of the most difficult parts about writing Sabbath in the Suburbs? Exciting? Surprising?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember a friend saying that when you\u2019re in graduate school, guilt is an inherent part of any leisure time. Writing a book can be like that. It\u2019s always hanging over your head as something you\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0work on. This was especially hard for me, because I was writing a book about Sabbath and yet the writing was eating into my Sabbath time!<\/p>\n

The most exciting and surprising thing about the process was that I actually got it done. I\u2019ve been writing blogs and short non-fiction for so long that I wasn\u2019t sure whether I could pull off a project like this.<\/p>\n

The most gratifying part is not the positive reviews, though I\u2019ve gotten\u00a0them [Publishers Weekly<\/a> |\u00a0Englewood<\/a>], nor the sales figures, which are encouraging and fun to track, but the individual folks who\u2019ve told me that Sabbath in the Suburbs inspired them to make actual changes in their lives. I heard recently from a woman whose husband is gravely ill. They have young children and the book helped them focus on making memories and living a life that matters for whatever time is left. Wow. If I don\u2019t sell another book, I will consider the project a success.<\/p>\n

Knowing that they may be one in the same, who do you think your book will have the most impact upon and who might it make uncomfortable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have heard from many people that the book makes them squirm because it shines a light on their own dysfunctions and anxieties around how they spend their time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also very real. If you like your religious leaders on a pedestal, this isn\u2019t the book for you. (My neighbor read it and said, \u201cI had no idea you were so sarcastic!\u201d To which I replied, \u201cDuh\u2026\u201d)<\/p>\n

Might be a good book, a writing discipline or helpful snack, but could you give a quick word of advice to help aspiring writers reach their goals of actually writing a book.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I highly, highly recommend a writers\u2019 group. I can say without exaggeration that my book would not exist without the Writing Revs, with whom I\u2019ve been meeting for six years. It also wouldn\u2019t be as good without their sharp eyes and wisdom.<\/p>\n

I am as prone to monkey-mind as anyone, so I recommend the Pomodoro Technique<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0as a way to focus. I wrote most of the book that way.\u00a0And my favorite book on writing is still Anne Lamott\u2019s classic Bird by Bird<\/a><\/em>. Stephen King\u2019s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is also great.<\/p>\n

If you could have people connect with you on ONE of your social media platforms, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do tweet [@revmamd<\/a>]\u00a0and I\u2019m on Pinterest [maryanndana<\/a>]\u00a0and GoodReads [MaryAnn_McKibben_Dana<\/a>], but I\u2019m really a Facebook gal at heart and would be overjoyed to have folks subscribe to my page[mdana<\/a>].<\/p>\n

If you know of any other projects: books, video, art, etc. that could use some social media umph, please let me know.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Originally posted on www.reyes-chow.com.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a firm\u00a0believer\u00a0in building community by helping good folks get the word about projects that they are working on. Today, I want to help spread the word about MaryAnn McKibben Dana and her new book, Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family\u2019s Experiment with Holy Time. I have met MaryAnn a handful of times in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":5996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[244,17,814],"tags":[16506,16755,17522,17525,486,17523,17524,16520],"class_list":["post-5995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-politics","category-faith-religion","category-family-community","tag-family","tag-interview","tag-maryann-mckibben-dana","tag-rest","tag-sabbath","tag-sabbath-in-the-suburbs","tag-sabbath-in-the-suburbs-a-familys-experiment-with-holy-time","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Interview with MaryAnn McKibben Dana about "Sabbath in the Suburbs"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am a firm\u00a0believer\u00a0in building community by helping good folks get the word about projects that they are working on. 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