MSI Press Blog

  Nightwalker The following guest post comes from MSI Press author of the award-winning book,    A Theology for the Rest of Us ,  . "The most terrible loneliness is not the kind that comes from being alone, but the kind that comes from being misunderstood. It is the loneliness of standing in a crowded room, surrounded by people who do not see you, who do not hear you, who do not know the true essence of who you are. And in that loneliness, you feel as though you are fading, disappearing into the background, until you are nothing more than a ghost, a shadow of your former self." — George Orwell, 1984 Followers of George Orwell and his prophetic "1984" might see a sad connection between his feelings and those of Cassandra--the ancient Trojan priestess who was doomed to foretell the future, only to be ignored. Still, from a spiritual perspective, in the darkness of such loneliness, maybe it is possible to take comfort that, despite whatever anyone else may say--some of...

  Today's shared blog post comes from Shai Tubali, who writes about  Three Deep Ways to Heal a Sense of Loneliness. For more posts about Shai and his award-winning books, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help. Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start?  Our  author au...

  Franciscan Ladies Lunch Out: from left - the author, Anne, Alice, and Barbara Three of us were a decade apart: Alice, Anne, and I; Barbara was a half-decade between Anne and Alice. Alice - even in her 90s was the renegade; Barbara was the dependable servant; Anne was the intellectual pusher; and I was the world traveler (some of our "out" meetings had to be scheduled around my irregular travel schedule).  We came together in an odd way. We were all Franciscans, and we met monthly for more than ten years for Franciscan Ladies' Night Out, until Alice who had reached her 90s, could not drive in the dark anymore. Then, we switched to Franciscan Ladies' Lunch Out. We always had plenty to talk about and always on the same wavelength. Just one of those lucky and blessed groupings where all of us could always rely on each of us for anything needed, but especially for maintaining sanity in a growingly crazy world as we approached the Covid months. These "out" exper...

  Excerpt from The Widower's Guide to a New Life   by Joanna Romer - INTRODUCTION Learning to Be Alone When we lose a loved one—a friend or relative—our first reaction after the pain is usually atavistic: how will this affect me ? When we lose a spouse, however, no such reaction is possible. The grieving widower or widow soon becomes aware that this loss is catastrophic in a different way: it’s more like losing a part of oneself, one’s arms or legs. We keep waiting for that dear one to reappear, we want to claim her or him—until we realize this isn’t going to happen. We’re alone. Not only are we in pain but also we’re alone. For the widower, in particular, this can be quite a shock. Accustomed to having a “right hand” or equal partner always around, the newly bereaved man can be thrown into confusion. He has not realized his level of co-dependency. Suddenly, he’s facing life without his spouse in a thousand different ways, and he is devastated. What can you do when yo...

  Excerpt from Widow: A Survival Guide for the First Year --  CHAPTER ONE Being Alone When I was in my mid-20s, I worked at Cosmopolitan Magazine as an Assistant Editor. My tenure there was short (barely a year), but because my editor liked me I was able to secure freelance assignments in later years. Writing for Cosmo , I learned that almost any problem can be remedied with concentrated self-nurturing and a few well thought-out lists. And so, throughout the years, I was able to handle two divorces, three marriages, many job changes and the untimely deaths of both my parents (although this last occurrence required the help of a very nice therapist). When Jack, my beloved husband of 16 years, died at the age of 71, I was devastated. There were days in those first months when I really didn’t see what I had to live for. Other times, I believed that I too would soon leave this earth, and so I scampered around trying to get my affairs in order. If you are a recent widow, y...