Author’s Note: This post was updated 1.15.14 in an effort to (and I’m showing my age here) better answer the question, “Where’s the beef?” :-) –Kate
She may be clairvoyant, or just a positive thinker. Two years ago, she whispered to her sister that she’d be speaking at this conference, even though her blog and book weren’t nearly as well-followed as they are today.
When she was little, she “wanted to be a nun.” Instead she became a blogger, author and sought-after speaker but not until she faced her addiction to drugs, alcohol and food head-on. One thing’s for sure, Glennon is very kind. I felt like we were old friends catching up vs. on an interview to share her upcoming trip to Richmond with
you.
And, I’ll admit that the conference she knew she wanted to be a speaker at– WomanKind 2014‘s Truth or Dare event–is a new event to me. A friend-of-a-friend reached out and before you know it, I find myself interviewing Momastery.com’s Glennon Doyle Melton, a blogging force with which to be reckoned. Momastery.com is a blog I’d heard about and read before, and after perusing more of her quirky, heartfelt posts–from A Mountain I’m willing to die on to I Thought Jesus’d Be Gay or . . .No She Didn’t it’s no surprise she has hundreds of thousands of followers.
I’ll admit something else that I shared with Glennon–I’m not a faithful church-goer, at least not currently. I am a Christian and consistently teach Christian values to my kids (and try to live them, yet ultimately fail miserably.) She didn’t judge. In fact, she has atheist friends and “gets atheism 100%. I attend friends’ Jewish events, too–I love talking about how faith is approached.” She went on to say that although the terminology changes–it’s all semantics. “We’re all approaching faith in our own way.”
Glennon made several similar refreshing points like this during our conversation, spurring me even more intrigued to meet her on February 7th when she comes to Richmond to sign her book, Carry On, Warrior, Thoughts on Life Unarmed and kick off this Christian women’s conference designed to educate and inspire. What Glennon describes as a “large, beautiful group of women, talking about faith in an out-of-the-box sort of way” has a lineup of impressive speakers and workshops that follow her kick-off on Saturday, February 8, 2014. “It’s also like coming home for me, since I’m from Virginia. We moved to Florida but I miss it, and plan to meet lots of family and friends on this trip as well as new ladies in Richmond.”
I asked Glennon what prompted her family to head south to Florida to live, “I contracted Lyme disease which can cause severe arthritis. I feel so much better because of the climate in Florida, but I miss Virginia very much.”
When questioning how she keeps it all together–the growing blog following, her book tours, speaking engagements. “I couldn’t do it without my sister. I am the creative and she does everything else–literally. We’re wired completely differently but we work so well together, and I couldn’t this without her.” In fact, Glennon mentioned that her “whole crazy family” may end up coming, because that’s just how they roll. “I cannot imagine doing this without their support and presence. I’d be so lonely.”
Speaking of family, we shared a bit about having young girls, and I mentioned her recent blog post about her daughter Tish, talking about beauty and girls and all the trappings. “It’s really tough our girls, isn’t it? I think the toughest part is that their worries are the same as mine and the hurts are the same, too. It just hits me so hard. Boys require worry, too, but it’s just a little different.”
That’s likely why a women’s conference is the most likely spot to find Glennon, and I’m thrilled she’s heading to RVA.
Who inspires you? “So many people–every day people. But I adore Anne Lamott–she’s who I saw presenting and knew I had to be part of WomanKind. There’s always that ‘a-ha’ moment when I hear someone like Anne sharing a story and it makes me feel like such a part of a great community.” Glennon also added that it’s not just “church friends” she’s drawn to/hangs out with. “It’s all friends.”
“One last thing that’s kind of burning on my mind, as a local blogger, I only have a presence in Richmond. Isn’t it hard to continue sharing all of the personal details of your life knowing what a reach you have?” I asked Glennon, knowing the answer myself all-too-well. “Absolutely, but I feel like I have to do it, it just feels so good to get these thoughts out” she answered, sharing that there have been times that she regretted putting herself out there. “But I’m not kidding when I tell you that I rarely get recognized anywhere! In fact, my daughter recently went to school telling her class that my book was #3 on the NY Times Best Seller list. Except she couldn’t quite get the details right when recanting this proud fact to her class. . .so she told them that mommy’s got a paper route.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHPNMIK-fY[/youtube]
