So much of our world today is crying out for welcome, refuge, and belonging.Homes with Heart is both inspiration and guide for people to create home in the world: first, through their own living spaces; second, within families of choice; and third, through supportive communities. While author Ruth Frost includes elements of home design, she also delves deeply into making home in the world through the power of love in community and offers practical tools to help people overcome obstacles associated with home living, such as homes obstructed by clutter, homes associated with traumatic events, or homes that need to support families in transition. Sharing both from Frost’s own life experience and that of others including children, refugees, trauma survivors, and home hospice patients Homes with Heart extends well beyond “bricks and mortar”; it deals with who we are and how we live in the world within and beyond the walls that shelter us, inspiring laughter and tears in equal measure. Reviews: “Homes with Heart: Turning Living Spaces into Loving Places offers us inspiring roadmaps to find our own 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 About the Author: Ruth Frost inspires people to create homes that tell their stories. Living in San Francisco during the twin epidemics of AIDS and homelessness, she worked closely with people disenfranchised from home and family. Her church community became a refuge of welcome, safety, and belonging, key characteristics of home. Ruth helped develop a grassroots national advocacy movement for the rights and visibility of LGBTQ people in the wider Lutheran Church. In recognition of her work, she received “A Leading Voice” award from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, Berkeley, CA. She is also a stained glass artisan who has created lamps and windows for homes and churches. After leaving parish ministry for hospice chaplaincy, Ruth settled into the quieter side of soul care, accompanying patients as they prepared to leave home to “go home” and helping them record their life stories and celebrate the love they would leave behind. Now retired and living in Minneapolis, Ruth enjoys time with family as well as leading workshops and retreats on creating “Homes with Heart” and “Families of the Heart.” |
