A Visit With Nunes

By Julie Anne Thornton

I was given, along with a larger group of women, an opportunity to attend a meeting in which Rachel Ann Nunes, a popular LDS author, was the keynote speaker. I'm grateful for the thoughts and message she shared. She spoke of believing in ourselves as women. She encouraged us to overcome our fears and make time, however small, to facilitate and strengthen our talents.

Following her talk, I was impressed with how she dealt with the group of inquiring women eagerly surrounding her. Mrs. Nunes carried herself with humility, graciousness and a down-to-earth sense of humor. She made no attempt to appear hurried or unavailable, as she lingered around the dessert table, munching down pumpkin roll and vanilla ice-cream.

I was able to steal a few minutes with Mrs. Nunes and tap into her repertoire of writing wisdom near the close of the evening. She shared a few practical ideas such as; write at least a thousand words two times a week, as well as; make sure to attend the Annual LDStoryteller's Conference in the Spring.

Even more important than word count and conferences, were the personal experiences Mrs. Nunes shared during our chat. She laughed as she described nursing her baby while she sat typing on her keyboard (the epitome of multi-tasking in my opinion). She also chuckled in explaining how her toddler would be scrambling up her back just as she was writing some of her novel's most important scenes.

One description she shared reverted to her imaginations as a young woman, and how she envisioned her life as a writer. She described herself as wearing a beautiful, white flowing dress and walking along the shores of a rocky seashore; feeling the sprays of the ocean against her barefoot toes. She would write when she felt inspired, and her works would create enough money to give her everything she ever dreamed.

Mrs. Nunes smiles now when she recounts this fanciful image, and smiles even wider when she proceeds to explain her life as the mother of six is infinitesimally more beautiful than walking alone barefoot by the sea.

The beauty of Mrs. Nunes' words, the true essence that left its impression on my heart, was her ability to remain centered in the dual world of motherhood and writing. She's managed to fill her divine role as a mother to its fullness, while still mastering her craft as a writer.

My conversation with Rachel Nunes reminded me that in our quest to adorn ourselves in the "flowing dress", let us remember to not lose perspective on those things that are of more eternal importance.