Behind the Tapestry is the compelling true story told from behind convent walls, of one woman's struggles to "make peace" with a mysterious chronic illness and her unfulfilled dream of being a Catholic nun. Maryanne was a 29 year old graphic designer working towards a lifelong desire to someday move to Hollywood and become an Academy Award winning art director. But an unexpected invitation to a Catholic prayer meeting would forever change Maryanne's life showing her desires she didn't know she possessed. After being abruptly fired from her job and spending a lot of time in prayer, Maryanne embarked on a journey to discover God's will for her life. This quest eventually led her to the Catholic Convent and the realization that all she's ever really wanted was to devote herself to Jesus. Entering Religious Life was all that Maryanne thought about for more than a year but there was a problem. She found herself plagued by a mysterious condition that caused widespread, chronic pain. However, in spite of this pain, Maryanne joined a group of Franciscan Sisters in 1999. Her life in the Convent was filled with many questions, struggles, challenges and a whole lot of physical pain. Then when already strained relationships with her superiors became even more fractured with the lines of communication practically severed, Sister Maryanne was forced to make a heart-wrenching decision. One that would not only impact her life but the lives of those around her. Should she remain in the Convent and go on to take final vows or leave her Religious Life behind and take care of herself instead?

A Tapestry of Life is the true story of a woman who, in her quest to fulfill her dreams and have the family that she had always imagined, struggled with pain, disillusionment and heartbreak but came through it with an understanding of the rich beauty of life. Like many young girls growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, Daphne had dreams of growing up, getting married and having a family. She had well-organized plans for her future. She did not have any concept of the roadblocks that she would encounter or the challenges that she would have to meet as she journeyed toward this goal. Through a diagnosis of infertility and decisions about fertility treatments, to pursuit of adoption, to marrying and acquiring step children, to eventually achieving a pregnancy and then to gaining a daughter through an informal foster care situation she eventually created her eclectic family. Despite her dreams of having children who transitioned easily into adulthood, her children each seemed to have some struggle to overcome. The family faced challenges including developmental disabilities, cancer, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, anorexia, bi-polar disorder and teen pregnancy. Over the years Daphne learned a lot and grew stronger. This is a story about perseverance and finding peace in the unpredictable nature of this life. The author's faith matured through the challenges and struggles and became the foundation on which her family developed. She found that with faith she did not need all the answers and she did not need to know the future. She learned that the path is not always clear but we can still enjoy the journey.

My Tapestry of Life A tapestry, an artistic design, Threads interwoven, up, down, over time. Married life, lived in six different states, Moving with career, retirement of mate. Continuing threads, moving ten times, Family, friends, healthy choices, church chimes. Poems to capture, commemorate, Special life events, important dates. Some poems written to say I care, Mailed across miles, I couldn't be there. My poems became the woven threads over time, Resulting in my unique artistic design, My Tapestry of Life

More than 1.5 million copies sold! What if you discovered that the life you already have is the life you’ve always wanted? What if joy is possible right where you are? New York Times bestselling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative journey of chronicling God's gifts. How can you find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and even the death of loved ones? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes even dark? How is God even here? “It is in the dark that God is passing by . . . our lives shake not because God has abandoned but the exact opposite. God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can’t see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us...” In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp invites you to discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings deep and lasting joy. It's only in the expression of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we've always wanted . . . a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. Come to feel and know the impossible right down in your bones: you are wildly loved by God. As Ann invites you into her own beautiful, heart-aching moments of amazing grace, she gently teaches you how to: Biblically lament loss and turn pain into poetry Intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude Slow down and catch God in the moment Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts is an invitation to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God’s joy and transform your life forever. Leave pride, fear, and control behind, and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.