Book Release by Former Watertown Resident, Marsha Eger

Marsha Eger, former Watertown resident is pleased to announce the availability of her first book, Voice of My Soul: Wisdom From the Stillness, through Amazon.com.

In Voice of My Soul: Wisdom From the Stillness, Eger relates her understanding in clear and accessible poetry and prose that are an outcome of her spiritual practice.

I posed five questions to the author:

What inspired you to write the book?
This book is born out of my own personal quest to understand, like most everyone, who I really am. I began to meditate in 1994 after a very difficult personal period in my life.
I had always been on a search to understand how the Universe works. The difficulties that arose in my life were the catalyst I needed to go inward.

In my book I speak about the content being inspired through my middle-of-the-night meditation practice. My first poem came in 1998 after I moved from Watertown to Ithaca. And then they just kept on coming and still do.
By creating a collection of my journal entries, I wanted to demonstrate that the wisdom of the Divine, G-d, the Universe is accessible to all of us, not just the well-known spiritual teachers of present time or times past. We all have the “still small voice” within. We have to find a new way to listen in.

How did 9/11 affect your life? This book?

The events of September 11, 2001 affected me profoundly. I was at a health care conference in San Diego and ended up driving home with three other New York State colleagues.
One of the book entries, entitled Harmony is a visualization for peace, written on the trip home from San Diego to Ithaca. It speaks to a vision for world peace and was inspired by the ever changing landscape and changing cultures we encountered from state to state.

In November 2001, I was asked to sit on an interfaith panel in Ithaca to talk about living a spiritual life in trouble times. Everyone from the Dali Lama’s monks to the friar from a nearby abbey focused on peace.
The events of 9/11 have made my personal quest for harmony and peace in the world even stronger. It may be that we will all need to first find peace in our own hearts. Hopefully my book will help inspire that inner peace and love we all seek.

What is the format/design of the book? Are there individual pages/entries for days or for specific spiritual experiences?

When I decided to publish this book, I had a sense that the layout and design should be as much a part of the experience for the reader as the words on the page. What came to mind were these beautiful and ethereal color washes of artist Susan Harp, who passed in 2005 after bravely battling pancreatic cancer.
Her husband and designer Douglas Harp of Hanover, New Hampshire graciously agreed to design the book using the color washes as I had envisioned. They serve to carry the reader through the pages.
Mostly there is one poem per page, but there are a few two-page spreads that contain shorter entries and are highlighted by the color washes. While the entries exist in my journals by the date and time they were written, this is not reflected in my book. .

What do you hope readers will glean from the book? If a person previously didn’t practice meditation and spiritually, will they be able to enact a program that works for them after reading Voice of My Soul: Wisdom From the Stillness?

My hope is that the poetry and prose-poetry in this book will inspire others as I have been inspired and will lead the reader to a fuller understanding of the truth of his or her existence.
Ultimately, as I talk about in my book, opening ourselves to the truth of our existence is work,but I have found the work so worthwhile. It has changes how I move through life.
This is a journey, but not one of distance. The answers are within. While the book doesn’t prescribe how the journey should be undertaken, it provides enough instruction to help someone get started and hopefully will additionally inspire others who have already undertaken the journey of self-discovery.

As a first time author (published book) what challenges did you face?

Courage was the first step. I wasn’t sure what I had written was worthy of publishing, so over a several- year period I showed it to people who I felt would be objective and tell me the truth.
It was Dean Dianne lynch of the Park School of Communication, Ithaca College, that told me to go for it. Her encouragement meant a great deal to me and ultimately resulted in my moving forward to publish..

Learning the publishing business was also challenging. I am still learning, since the world of publishing has changed significantly in this age of the Internet.

Author bio: Marsha Eger currently works as the Executive Director of Alumni Programs at Ithaca College, Ithaca NY. Prior to this she served for seven years as the Vice President of Community Relations for Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca. After graduating from Ithaca College she lived in Watertown, New York for 26 years where she owned and operated the Starbuck House Bed and Breakfast Inn. She also served in similar community relations and marketing positions for Mercy Center for Health Services, Jefferson Rehabilitation Center, and Champion International Corporation. Eger moved to Ithaca in 1997.

Contact: Marsha Eger

151 Pine Tree Road

Ithaca, New York 14850

mo408@yahoo.com

(607) 592-2465