A Spacious Place

Content

For every woman who wants to make the best of the years to come...

Alie Stibbe's first book, Barefoot in the Kitchen, charted her personal search for God's presence and purpose in the middle of the hectic daily routines of caring for young children. Her long-awaited sequel, A Spacious Place, encourages women to prepare for the different challenge of moving to the next stage of life, into a 'spacious place' where new opportunities for personal growth and development can begin to unfold.

The book examines the tension between seeing our destiny as shaped by our own efforts and, by contrast, understanding it as the good things God has in store for us, even as we go through times of emotional, physical and spiritual transition. It also explores how we can move from focusing on the idea of 'success' to valuing what is truly of significance, as we reach a different phase of our working lives.

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Endorsements

An absolute must for all women who want to live and enjoy, not just accept, the inevitable.
Michele Guinness

Author info

Alie Stibbe works in resource management for a college of further education, and as a freelance writer and translator. She is a regular contributor to Day by Day with God and has written for Christianity, New Wine magazine, and Inspiring Women Every Day (CWR). Her books include Barefoot in the Kitchen (BRF), Bursting at the Seams, All Stitched Up and Losing the Thread (Monarch). She is married to Mark Stibbe, founder and leader of The Father's House Trust (www.fathershousetrust.com).

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Reviews

From The Church Times - March 2012

Alie Stibbe's A Spacious Place: Contemplating the second half of life is a book for women (this is not to say men may not learn a thing or two . . .), and a follow-up to her previous BRF publication, Barefoot in the Kitchen (2004) - a personalised search for God while bringing up young children.

As a vicarage parent who also brought up four children in quick succession, I studiously avoided exactly this sort of publication; so it was with more than a note of cynicism that I picked up A Spacious Place.

The strength of this book is in its honesty. At various points, the author shares her huge disappointment at failing to make it in the academic world after completing her Ph.D. She now works as a time -tabling officer at a local FE college and, despite a range of justifications (near to home, work-life balance, avoids the commute), she still wrestles with her lot. Add to this that, now that she is 50, her children come and go, her husband has left his large church to set up a solo venture (and parish life itself, she admits, was not easy, taking its toll on the whole family), the waistline has thickened, and there are no diocesan surveyors to call when the house floods . . . and readers will get the picture.

The book, billed as a "half-glassfull" look at the "the second half of life", focuses on what the author calls "God-centred remembering", with many - possibly too many - biblical texts. The chapters look back and forward, and deal with the present; the section on the "Panini generation" - those sandwiched (or rather toasted) between ageing parents and half-grown-up children - will resonate with many.

Each chapter ends with practical suggestions, a prayer, and reflections from a range of sources, including this from author Allison Pearson: "If you're a woman there's always a good reason to put yourself last. . . I sometimes feel sacrifice is written into our genes. It sits right next to the Guilt Chromosone we inherited from our mothers." Familiar? If so, you may find the book worth a read.

Review by Rachel Harden

Book details

• ISBN: 9781841016054
• Published: 20 January 2012
• Status:
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 112