Tiny Thoughts that I’ve Been Thinking: Selected Writings of Leslie Anne Bustard

As she was just beginning to enjoy life as an empty nester, Leslie was struck with a double cancer diagnosis and began an arduous three-year journey in the shadow of Death. While undergoing treatment meant to extend life, she could no longer teach or produce theater, so she turned her attention toward creative writing. Her imagination burst into life, beckoning all those around to follow her “further up and further in.” 

This collection is a magpie’s nest of reflections on art, faith, literature, community, caregiving, and mortality. Her essays, poems (many taken from The Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living), and miscellaneous musings show us how one follower of Jesus lived life to the glory of God by adding to the Beauty in the world around her.

This rich collection has so much to nurture and sustain the reader. It is a little trove of beauty and wisdom in the midst of ugly and confusing times. One might think a gathering of prose and poetry from someone who had to face severe illness and untimely death would be a difficult or depressing read. On the contrary, these luminous little reflections show how Leslie lived ever more intensely, ever more keenly aware of beauty and blessing, as she learned to number and value her days.

But there is more on offer here than just attention to the beauties of life in this world, there is something deeper. We follow the author on her last journey deeper into Christ himself, into intimacy with the Love of God, and find, as we lift our eyes from the page, that we too feel closer to Jesus.
— Malcolm Guite

ISBN 978-1-941106-34-1 | Coming 2024


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