When Sarah Snyder left her home in Montana to volunteer to plant trees at a private estate in Scotland, she expected a pleasurable six-month break from her humdrum life. When she arrived, however, she learned she would also be caring for a menagerie of poultry, doing rigorous household chores, and shepherding a flock of truant sheep. Her experience turned out to be a soul-forging adventure that changed her entire relationship with life—and with God—forever.

Six months turned into two years and resulted in her memoir Plant Trees, Carry Sheep: A Woman’s Spiritual Journey Among the Sufis of Scotland. With self-deprecating humor, Sarah chronicles her time at the spiritual retreat, where people from all over the world came to study Ibn Arabi and Rumi. Her exposure to Islam helped her better understand the religion and see God, as well as herself, in a different light.

Sarah will discuss the retreat, tell a few stories, and answer questions.

Speaker of the Event

Sarah Snyder has been a professional writer and editor since 1991 and is currently a technical writer for a global company. She also blogs at www.lunarivervoices.com and participates in oral storytelling. Her next book, a spinoff of her memoir titled The Value of Your Soul: Rumi Verse for Life’s Annoying Moments, will be published this autumn. She lives in Herndon, VA, with her husband.

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