Overview

WINNER OF 2024 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD, SILVER MEDAL, DEATH & DYING, GRIEF & LOSS CATEGORIES WINNER OF TWO INDEPENDENT BOOK PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION AWARDS (IPPY) FOR DESIGN AND CONCEPT For Judy Smoot, a devastating Glioblastoma Multiforme diagnosis means putting the spiritual practices she has taught so many others to the ultimate, personal test. As an artist, spiritual director, expressive arts teacher, retreat facilitator, and innovator of a non-profit organization supporting people with chronic disease, Judy shows us what it looks like to live fully into our own mortality by living fully into hers. It All Belongs invites its readers to journey with Judy as she first confronts her life's biggest challenge head-on and then travels through the end of her earthly existence with grace, humor, humility, courage, and the ultimate hope of our being. Family and friends said, ""Judy showed us how to live ... and how to die."" But that's only half the story. Following Judy's death, It All Belongs invites its readers to journey with Roy, Judy's husband of nearly 40 years, as he struggles to embrace the twin realities of love and grief. With extraordinary vulnerability, Roy offers a rare window into his struggle to learn the rhythms of this bittersweet dance. From the raw angst of navigating immediate day-to-day realities, to deep introspection during a long road trip out west, to culminating awareness on a spiritual quest in Iona, Scotland, Roy models the journey through unthinkable darkness to emerging triumphant into a full and abundant life. Woven into both sides of this honest, beautiful, heartbreaking, and awe-inspiring narrative, readers will discover spiritual tools and practices to equip them and their loved ones for their own inevitable end-of-life realities. In this unique pairing of perspectives laced with exquisite art and poetry, It All Belongs brings hands-on help for navigating any unwanted life journey to embrace the amazing love, beauty, light, and joy tucked within even our most tragic experiences. --Judy and Roy Smoot

Full Product Details

9780982696064

Table of Contents

Reviews

"An insightful and touching testament to enduring love. In this spiritual healing guide, the husband of an artist and therapist who died of brain cancer showcases her drawings and writings, as well as his own journal entries and poems. In the winter of 2012, Judy Smoot embarked on an exciting new direction in her life: She'd enrolled in a two-and-a-half-year certification course by the Expressive Arts Florida Institute. Later, she and her husband, Roy Smoot, sold their family home of 25 years in Westerville, Ohio, and relocated to a lovely rural cottage in the southeastern part of the state. In the fall of 2015, however, ""came the nightmare we never anticipated,"" Roy writes: Judy was diagnosed with glioblastoma--the same aggressive brain cancer that had taken the life of her beloved aunt. This book is Roy's posthumous collection of Judy's expressive art (including mandalas with titles such as ""Solace in the Cycle"") and journal entries, which often included meditations on biblical and other readings. Her writings date from prior to her diagnosis, during her treatments, and after she experienced a stroke; by the time of her death in 2016, she'd reached a state of spiritual acceptance. Roy also includes several of his own journal entries from the same time periods, and the book's final section features the poems he wrote as he worked through his grieving process, culminating with the one that gives this book its title, which reads in part: ""Love, grief / Joy, sadness / Laughter, sobs and tears / ... / It all belongs."" Roy notes that reading Judy's journals was a key element in his healing, and his inclusion of her thoughts in this book may offer inspirational support to others; she'd been a hospice volunteer and ran a nonprofit supporting the chronically ill. Both Judy and Roy (who are credited as co-authors, along with collaborator Folse) offer tangible ideas for readers facing similar circumstances--most particularly, they recommend engaging in expressive art and journal writing. Roy's habit of writing in public, for example, led him to experience important conversations and make new connections. An insightful and touching testament to enduring love. -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" (1/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)"

"""This is an intimate book, revealing the journey of the heart from the inside. It is also a book of invitations, calling us to press against the edges of our lives through creativity and meditation, and discover what brings us alive. I recommend it for anyone looking for a wise companion who is willing to be vulnerable, to help us embrace our own humanity."" --Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, Abbey of the Arts, Author of over 20 books on contemplative practice and creative expression --Christine Valters Paintner (3/1/2024 12:00:00 AM) Kirkus Reviews: Get it! ""An insightful and touching testament to enduring love."" In this spiritual healing guide, the husband of an artist and therapist who died of brain cancer showcases her drawings and writings, as well as his own journal entries and poems. In the winter of 2012, Judy Smoot embarked on an exciting new direction in her life: She'd enrolled in a two-and-a-half-year certification course by the Expressive Arts Florida Institute. Later, she and her husband, Roy Smoot, sold their family home of 25 years in Westerville, Ohio, and relocated to a lovely rural cottage in the southeastern part of the state. In the fall of 2015, however, ""came the nightmare we never anticipated,"" Roy writes: Judy was diagnosed with glioblastoma--the same aggressive brain cancer that had taken the life of her beloved aunt. This book is Roy's posthumous collection of Judy's expressive art (including mandalas with titles such as ""Solace in the Cycle"") and journal entries, which often included meditations on biblical and other readings. Her writings date from prior to her diagnosis, during her treatments, and after she experienced a stroke; by the time of her death in 2016, she'd reached a state of spiritual acceptance. Roy also includes several of his own journal entries from the same time periods, and the book's final section features the poems he wrote as he worked through his grieving process, culminating with the one that gives this book its title, which reads in part: ""Love, grief / Joy, sadness / Laughter, sobs and tears / ... / It all belongs."" Roy notes that reading Judy's journals was a key element in his healing, and his inclusion of her thoughts in this book may offer inspirational support to others; she'd been a hospice volunteer and ran a nonprofit supporting the chronically ill. Both Judy and Roy (who are credited as co-authors, along with collaborator Folse) offer tangible ideas for readers facing similar circumstances--most particularly, they recommend engaging in expressive art and journal writing. Roy's habit of writing in public, for example, led him to experience important conversations and make new connections. An insightful and touching testament to enduring love. -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" (1/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)"

""This is an intimate book, revealing the journey of the heart from the inside. It is also a book of invitations, calling us to press against the edges of our lives through creativity and meditation, and discover what brings us alive. I recommend it for anyone looking for a wise companion who is willing to be vulnerable, to help us embrace our own humanity."" --Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, Abbey of the Arts, Author of over 20 books on contemplative practice and creative expression --Christine Valters Paintner (3/1/2024 12:00:00 AM) Kirkus Reviews: Get it! ""An insightful and touching testament to enduring love."" In this spiritual healing guide, the husband of an artist and therapist who died of brain cancer showcases her drawings and writings, as well as his own journal entries and poems. In the winter of 2012, Judy Smoot embarked on an exciting new direction in her life: She'd enrolled in a two-and-a-half-year certification course by the Expressive Arts Florida Institute. Later, she and her husband, Roy Smoot, sold their family home of 25 years in Westerville, Ohio, and relocated to a lovely rural cottage in the southeastern part of the state. In the fall of 2015, however, ""came the nightmare we never anticipated,"" Roy writes: Judy was diagnosed with glioblastoma--the same aggressive brain cancer that had taken the life of her beloved aunt. This book is Roy's posthumous collection of Judy's expressive art (including mandalas with titles such as ""Solace in the Cycle"") and journal entries, which often included meditations on biblical and other readings. Her writings date from prior to her diagnosis, during her treatments, and after she experienced a stroke; by the time of her death in 2016, she'd reached a state of spiritual acceptance. Roy also includes several of his own journal entries from the same time periods, and the book's final section features the poems he wrote as he worked through his grieving process, culminating with the one that gives this book its title, which reads in part: ""Love, grief / Joy, sadness / Laughter, sobs and tears / ... / It all belongs."" Roy notes that reading Judy's journals was a key element in his healing, and his inclusion of her thoughts in this book may offer inspirational support to others; she'd been a hospice volunteer and ran a nonprofit supporting the chronically ill. Both Judy and Roy (who are credited as co-authors, along with collaborator Folse) offer tangible ideas for readers facing similar circumstances--most particularly, they recommend engaging in expressive art and journal writing. Roy's habit of writing in public, for example, led him to experience important conversations and make new connections. An insightful and touching testament to enduring love. -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" (1/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

JUDY & ROY met in college at Ohio State, were married following graduation, and for the next four decades lived and loved in Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Maine. Roy enjoyed a successful banking career; Judy served as a Wellstreams spiritual director, a Dominican Associate, and an Expressive Arts Florida Institute (EAFI) graduate. Judy established Always We Begin Again (AWBA), a non-profit organization to support people with chronic illness. Later in life they made their home at ""Sunrise Ridge,"" their cottage and retreat center renovated and created in the breathtaking beauty of Ohio's Hocking Hills. JUDY & ROY SMOOT met in college at Ohio State, were married following graduation, and for the next four decades lived and loved in Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Maine. Roy enjoyed a successful banking career; Judy served as a Wellstreams spiritual director, a Dominican Associate, and an Expressive Arts Florida Institute (EAFI) certified expressive arts therapist. Judy established Always We Begin Again (AWBA), a non-profit organization to support people with chronic illness. Later in life they made their home at ""Sunrise Ridge,"" their cottage and retreat center renovated and created in the breathtaking beauty of Ohio's Hocking Hills. Melinda Folse is a writer, editor, and collaborator on a mission to tell stories that make a difference. She believes this story will strike a meaningful chord in every life it touches. It All Belongs is her eighth book, joining Grandmaster, Dream Catcher, and Lessons Well Learned as her favorite explorations of lives and passions well lived. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, horses, and way too many dogs.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available