As she was just beginning to enjoy life as an empty nester, Leslie was struck with a double cancer diagnosis and began an arduous three-year journey in the shadow of death. While undergoing treatment meant to extend life, she could no longer teach or produce theater, so she turned her attention toward creative writing. Her imagination burst into life, beckoning all those around to follow her “further up and further in.” 

This collection is a magpie’s nest of reflections on art, faith, literature, community, caregiving, and mortality. Her essays, poems (many taken from The Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living), and miscellaneous musings show us how one follower of Jesus lived life to the glory of God by adding to the Beauty in the world around her.