A Long Road Home
Hello friends. Here is a photo of my good friend, and Donderos’ group poet, Bob Ambrose, taken in 2015 by Penny Noah. I thought I would share a brief passage from my 2011 memoir “Taking a Long Road Home.” Let it be an introduction to my lengthy writing career — two novels, five books on aging and elderhood, assorted volumes on religion, ethics, and contemporary society, a memoir, and three collections of poetry. My fourth book of poems, “Interbeing,” was published by Wipf & Stock / Resource in 2021. You can find out more about each of my books by clicking the links to the right, and visiting A Long Road Home on Facebook, as well as eugenecbianchi on Instagram.
As I settle into my tenth decade turning 92 in May, I admit I’m still seeking the divine in man and nature and finding it much closer than I used to. It’s always wise to seek the counsel of others over a cup of coffee and a brownie at a local coffeehouse. I hope you enjoy exploring my writing as I continue my life’s journey. Best, Gene
Excerpt
Not long ago, the Provost of Emory University, where I taught for four decades, asked me what I planned to do after retirement. I told him I had only one open slot on my resume, to become a saint. This was something of a conversation stopper. After moments of silence and a puzzled look, he said: “You mean a canonized saint as in the Catholic Church?” I said no, that I had a different view of sanctity than the canonizing process. I was referring to a less heroic notion of holiness. I meant something simpler: to move beyond or beneath religious institutions and their teachings.
I wanted to reconnect with a natural or primordial way of living spirit in the ups and downs of everyday life. My path has been a lifelong search for home, a true way for body/spirit here and now. Some may see this as just secular living. I’ve come to view daily existence as the main arena of spiritual life. Other aspects of traditional religion can be helpful but are secondary. To get to this gut-level, down-home spirit in the quotidian, I’ve had to let go of heady theories and false estimates of myself to learn from hard times. Without becoming a Pollyanna, I seek to discover divinity in persons and nature. How might we re-imagine life, secular and spiritual, intimately linked to one another?
