Posts Tagged ‘roll around heaven’
The Week Ahead: The Code in Madison, CT, and Jessica Maxwell at Ghost Ranch
It may be Monday and the start of the work-week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun. Every Monday we will be posting our upcoming events for the week. Check out these upcoming Beyond Words events happening around the country.
The Code Book Signing with Thomas Poppe and Johanna Paungger
When: Thursday, November 3, 2011, 7:00 pm
Where: R.J. Julia, 768 Boston Post Rd., Madison, CT 06443
What: Your most important and powerful piece of self-discovery is your birthday. Come and find out how and why at R.J. Julia Bookstore. Thomas Poppe and Johanna Paungger will show you how to discover the root of who you are, and why people in your life function the way they do.
Before the event, unlock out The Code behind your birthday here. Don’t forget to share your findings with us on Facebook or Twitter.
Jessica Maxwell, author of Roll Around Heaven at Ghost Ranch
When: Sunday, November 6, 2011
Where: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico
What: In Roll Around Heaven, Jessica draws upon the deep wisdom of Judaic-Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and Native American traditions gathered first-hand during her travels. She also sees frofound (if sometimes hilarious) visions, hears the voice of God, is regularly visited by light beings, angelic and otherwise, uses Second Sight to help clear people of crippling emotional traumas, and even heals a paralyzed squirrel with prayer.
Jessica will be at Ghost Ranch for a four-day interactive workshop. Learn more here.
Go here for more Beyond Words event listings.
Roll Around Heaven Jumps Off the Page
Jessica Maxwell, author of Roll Around Heaven, really is the hilariously, inspiring woman in her book, and recently a workshop full of people in McMinnville, Oregon got to see it for themselves.
Juanita Crampton of McMinnville said of Jessica,”You have a kind of joie de vivre, a love affair with life and a way of showing that spirituality is not just serious business and certainly not concepts to be learned and followed, but rather a way of living life that brings out the native gladness and generosity that dwell in all of our hearts.”
And Carol Zinda, also of McMinnville said “Your sense of humor is delightful, entertaining and yet inspiring. Thank you so much for being you and for opening up to God’s calling to help so many.”
Jessica shared in greater detail the lessons she is learning along the RAH path, and with the help of The Holy Pig Farmer himself, helped everyone see the wonder of their own life experiences.
Jessica will be taking her RAH show on the road very soon. To stay up to date on where she will be, visit her website www.rollaroundheaven.com.
BWP brings home 2 COVR Awards from INATS
For the thirteenth consecutive year, COVR’s Visionary Awards were presented at the INATS banquet on June 26th, 2010. Both our marketing manager, Danielle Marshall, and one of the co-owners, Richard Cohn, were on-hand for the ceremony, along with some of our favorite booksellers at a banquet table.
The Visionary Awards are judged by retailers and seasoned professionals who evaluate each title based upon content, presentation, and their own knowledge of the industry, as a guide to what best represents metaphysical, mind/body/spirit books, music, and products with positive energy and flair.
We were thrilled by the results–two winners and three runners-up!
2010 COVR Visionary Awards for Beyond Words Publishing:.
- Roll Around Heaven for Auto- / Biographical Book Category
- Infinite Possibilities for Conscious Living / Self-Help Book Category
- Frequency for Spirituality / Alt. Science & Spirituality Book Category
- Something Unknown for Video / DVD Category
- The Living Matrix for Video / DVD Category
The COVR winners are in bold. All others are “runners-up.” We would like to thank all involved, especially our award winning author and filmmakers!
Jessica Maxwell on Coast to Coast
It is always exciting when one of our authors is on George Noory’s radio show Coast to Coast, and just last week the delightful Jessica Maxwell took the audio-spotlight to talk about her memoir Roll Around Heaven.
Roll Around Heaven is an all-true accidental spiritual adventure that led one nonbeliever to lunch with Deepak Chopra, dance with Stephen Hawking, heal animals with Yogananda, sing Christmas carols with an enlightened rabbi, banish evil spirits with a Himalayan Rinpoche, talk all night with the daughters of Islam, find true love in a Presbyterian choir, share Celtic visions on the isle of Iona, and learn an abiding respect for all paths to God.
Jessica has received some terrific reviews for her book. More magazine wrote:
If you want laughs, you don’t usually turn to spiritual memoirs. But Jessica Maxwell’s Roll Around Heaven is so full of LOL moments, it fits the bill…. Maxwell is exuberant, grumpy, skewering, wise and so gosh-darn good-hearted in her quest to understand the universe, I couldn’t help wanting to tag along for the ride—er, roll.
To hear more from the author who the great Tom Robbins once described as “Empress Tizzie Izzie of adventure writing,” click here to listen to the Coast to Coast episode.
A storm in God’s tea-cup perhaps?
Jessica Maxwell’s essay for Powells.com has provoked some lively discussion in the comments section. It is terrific actually, and as Jessica herself responded: “Thank you all for your clearly passionate interest in Roll Around Heaven, and for jumping into this lively dialogue with both hooves.” Read the essay here and join the debate!
Even better, join us at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside, Portland, OR, on Friday, November 13 at 7:30 PM where Jessica will be reading from Roll Around Heaven and encouraging a passionate and fun discourse!
Roll Around Heaven
On Sunday we went down to Salem for the book launch of Roll Around Heaven! It is finally here, and we wanted to celebrate. It was one of the most unique launches I have ever been to. There was a blessing by Tom’s father, Presbyterian minister Rev. Henry Andersen, , a book blessing by Lama Karma (which involved bells and singing. Very cool), and, what seemed like, a hundred of Jessica’s friends. Now don’t get me wrong, there was quite a bit of room in that house (the Gaiety Hill House, quite historic), but there was not enough room for that many people. Luckily it was a beautiful day, so some of us enjoyed the ceremonies from outside.
The best part (at least gastronomically) was the flying pig cupcake lollies made by the Itsy Bitsy Bakeshop. They were adorable and delicious! Imagine cake on a stick!
Another highlight was getting to hear from the Holy Pig Farmer himself. He flew down especially for this event, and his toast to Jessica was really touching. I can understand why she learns so much from him.
Visit our Facebook page to see photographs of the event—and become a Beyond Words Facebook fan at the same time!
Lucky Old Sun
When I first heard the title, Roll Around Heaven, I thought to myself “what the heck does that even mean?” But in immersing myself in Jessica Maxwell’s sumptuous memoir, I quickly learned that it is an expression her mother used to use.
“She’d be rolling out dough for chicken-and-dumplings, trying, as always, to make her dumplings turn out as good as her mother’s–a near impossible mission that would vex my mother mercilessly if she let it. “You can either roll around heaven or roll around hell,” she’d say with a laugh, “the choice is yours honey.”
It turns out this folksy saying is also featured in a beautiful song written in 1949 called “Lucky Old Sun.” The line goes like this: “But that lucky old sun has nothin’ to do, but roll around heaven all day.” The song “Lucky Old Sun” has been covered by some of the most incredible performers of all time. With Jessica’s words in my head, I went a searching on YouTube and found versions by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Johnny Cash. There is even a version of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty singing the song together.
So Pretty!
The delicious smell of printer’s ink, the whooshy sound of pages being flicked through, and many a blissful sigh abound in the office today. Reason: we have just got some early copies of Jessica Maxwell’s Roll Around Heaven.
Not only that, but Ms Maxwell will be in town tomorrow for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Fall Show.
I can’t stop talking this book up—it is so fresh, exuberant and spiritually satisfying. Sometimes you find one book from a season that just clicks with you.
