Reviews
Our homes are the libraries of our lives whose rooms preserve our stories---those that sustain us, and those that still haunt us. Our stories are reference points, but as with all reference books, they invite course correction as new knowledge and new experience enlighten, and sometimes supplant, the old. The present, lived with compassionate wisdom, illumines the past and lends hope to the future. --- from "Homes with Heart"
Homes with Heart: Turning Living Spaces into Loving Places offers us inspiring roadmaps to find our true homes, no matter our circumstances. Ruth Frost paints a picture of what home can be, changing over time and responding to the needs of the larger community--from birth to death. I find myself saying, "You've got to read it because of this and this and this," but it's hard to pick just a few examples. Frost ranges widely and invites her readers to do the same as they continue their own process of "homing."
Jan Johnson, former publisher of Conari Press
Homes with Heart: Turning Living Spaces into Loving Places is a poignant and powerful book that is both intimate and universal. Speaking from her heart to humanity's heart, Ruth Frost invites the reader to create spaces of love and justice, first in our family life and then in the world, leaving a legacy of love for those we leave behind.
Kris Linner, former Hospice Director and Author of "My Brother Dave: Living Through a Loved One's Death"
Ruth Frost understands home as not simply the house, but the space around us - between us, within us - shaped by intention. Weaving tales of her own "homing" into wisdom, Homes with Heart invites us to imagine ways to make home within the walls of our house, the lives we lead, and at the liminal edges where we become. You may open this book seeking practical hints at "heartfelt home design" - and you'll find them. But you'll close it - likely with moistened eyes - with new appreciation for home as the capacity of our lives to host hospitality toward others - and ourselves. An unexpected treat!
David Weiss, Author of "When God was a Little Girl"
I just finished reading Ruth Frost's memoir, Homes with Heart, after a few late nights when I should have gone to bed but couldn't stop reading. I am just blown away. Her words are beautiful. Her story about how we search for home is deep, courageous and meaningful. The weaving of justice and love through the narrative affected me in a way I wasn't prepared for. It's been a balm!
Katie Roth
Homes with Heart: Turning Living Spaces into Loving Places delivers much more than the title suggests. Ruth Frost offers a gentle, generous and heart-grown experience of home. Her reflections remind us that when we truly love ourselves, we come home to ourselves. This love then provides a foundation to create compassionate spaces that warm and comfort others. There is something here for everyone, especially for those who have felt outside the norm of traditional families or estranged from home. Frost illustrates the power of embracing "families of the heart" that lead to the acceptance and support we all need to find our home in the world.
Jan Peppler, findinghome.substack.com