I am a freelance religion reporter living in and working from the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been covering religion for the secular media since 1993, and my work has appeared in The Dallas Morning News, USA Today, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Publishers Weekly and The Chicago Tribune. I am the 2005 recipient of the American Academy of Religion’s Award for Best In-Depth Reporting in media with a circulation larger than 100,000 for five stories I wrote for Beliefnet.com. I am the author of three books, Faith Beyond Faith Healing, Fabric of Faith: A Guide to the Prayer Quilt Ministry, and the new Bead One, Pray Too: A Guide to Making and Using Prayer Beads. I started this blog because I was so inspired by the reporting and work I did for Bead One, Pray Too that I wanted to continue exploring the use, creation and history of prayer beads with my readers and others. My journalistic writing can be read on my website, www.kimberlywinston.com.
As a prayer bead lover, I was so pleased to find your site. :) Looking forward to reading more. And, to reading your book as well.
Thanks for your consideration,
R.E.
Hi, Kimberly,
Thank you for a lovely book. I would like to know where I could find the beads pictured on the cover, specifically, the labyrinth bead and the beautiful tree.
Thank you!
Tracy
Hi, Tracy! Thanks so much for your kind words. I am very happy you like it.
The charms on the cover came from two San Francisco Bay Area stores. The labyrinth is a pewter charm that I bought at Sagrada in Oakland (www.sagrada.com) and I believe it was sold as a necklace on a leather cord and came on a card. It was about $10-$12, if memory serves. The tree came from Baubles and Beads in Berkeley (www.baublesandbeads.com) and is the original design of the store’s owner. It was also about $10 and comes in a gold vermeil version that was a little more expensive. The store does not do mail order, but if you call and ask for Lisa, tell her you saw it on my book, I am sure she will try and accomodate you. GOOD LUCK. And send pictures of your creations!
Thank you so much, Kimberly! I will give them a call, and send photos when I am done!
Kimberly,
I’m enjoying Bead One, Pray Too so much. The Pearls of Life beads are entirely new to me, and I’m very drawn to them and the intent of each bead. I’ve visited the wreathoflife.com site to read more about them. I plan to try my hand at making some, but I would also like to buy some to support the Tara Projects effort described at that site. Do you know if they are readily available in the US? I have not found a source on the web and the sources at the wreathoflife site are outside the US.
Please post more pictures of Pearls of Life if you have them. I would love to see what others are creating.
Thank you for your fine book and informative blog!
MJ