The Book

Soul Garden,
A Catholic Mother’s Collective

“Soul Garden” is an anthology of womanly wisdom.

Celebrating beauty, style and design, the riches of Catholic culture, and the hidden life of Nazareth, this book is a collaborative compilation of our first decade of journaling. Soul Garden is available to purchase from Ignatius Press.

All proceeds go right back into this non-profit journaling ministry. It is our hope that this book will bless many women!

Buy the Book

“Simply put, it’s the most inspiring peaceful book I have ever read! Thank you to the writers! I highly recommend it.” - Rose

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book is dedicated to Our Lady of Nazareth and to our own mothers and daughters, with gratitude for who you are and what you gave us.

Table of contents page with decorative floral border and butterfly illustrations, listing sections such as Preface, Nurture, Pondr, Dwell, Read, Woman, Journey, Pray, Flat, and Table with corresponding page numbers.

The power of a woman is most concretely observed in the seeds she plants, day after day, in the lives of those around her. Soul Garden is a sizable collection of personal stories, essays, poems, and recipes written to cultivate the motherly role of women by offering inspiration, camaraderie, and encouragement.

Contributors from across the country and around the world invite readers to put away their screens and to pick up this lovely, tangible book, in which they can find nourishment for the soul and tips for practical life.

Among the nine chapters are “Nurture”, which encourages women in their call to care for the children and other people God has placed in their lives; “Ponder”, which considers the lessons, blessings, and challenges of motherhood; “Dwell”, which suggests ways to create a beautiful home, regardless of a woman’s budget; and “Fiat”, which honors the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model woman.

Soul Garden aims to strengthen the heart of the mother, thereby strengthening the heart of the Church and of society itself.

In the Press

Nourishing Catholic Moms in the 21st Century with Hope Schneir

In this podcast episode, Rose Trabbic of Ignatius Press talks to Hope Schneir, the co-author of Soul Garden: A Catholic Mother’s Collective, to talk about the joys and challenges of motherhood. They discuss dealing with burn out, management of technology in the home, and even some new recipes to share with their families. Drawing from the contributors published in Soul Garden, Hope provides thoughtful tips and insights for all mothers. She hopes that this episode and her book will help her follow sisters in Christ as they nourish their family and grow closer to God.

“What mothers do is the most foundational aspect to what the character of the next generation will be” - Hope Schneir

A straight metal rod with a looped cord tied to it.

Soul Garden: An Interview with Hope Schneir

On mothering without fear and with a lot of soul.

Noelle Mering, coauthor of the Theology of Home books, sits down with her dear friend, Hope Schneir, who is a singer/songwriter, an author, a mother of ten, and a font of wisdom, to discuss her new book, Soul Garden.

Watch on Theology of Home’s Substack

“It was so life-giving to go through all of the pieces as a seasoned mother. And I still felt like it was... what I needed to read… and these women are inspiring me…” - Hope Schneir

A fishing rod with a fishing line and a lure, hanging over water.

ARTICLE

Digging deep beneath the surface of motherhood

by Monica Seeley

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ARTICLE

Soul Garden: A Catholic Mother’s Collective

By Jennifer Gregory Miller

Catholic Culture logo with white text on a blue background and website address catholicculture.org

ARTICLE

‘Soul Garden’ is an anthology full of womanly wisdom

By Justyna Braun

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Book Reviews

  • “Like a well-loved cookbook, Soul Garden feels destined to be thumbed through endlessly, treasured, and passed down from mother to daughter. It contains a wealth of wisdom and inspiration, poetry and artwork. Most important, it is soulful, springing from deep within the hearts of the writers, but with just the right amount of quirkiness to make the reader feel she is among dear friends.”

    — Noelle Mering, Author, Theology of Home: Finding the Eternal in the Everyday

  • “Motherhood, while deeply fulfilling and spiritually rich, hands us moments of discouragement and fears of isolation. In the absence of a room full of women with whom we can cry and laugh and share daily failures and triumphs alike, this collection of pieces offers encouragement and consolation as women sojourn together in spirit. Soul Garden is companionship on a page.”

    — Lindsay Younce Tsohantaridis, actress and writer

  • “Wives and mothers are by nature tenders of the soul, as of a garden—and we often tend gardens too, or would love to learn how. Soul Garden offers women a thoughtful, calm, encouraging compendium of those wise, generous voices we seek but often cannot find in our fractured time. It can be opened at will to provide solace, inspiration, and even practical help, as well as some nice recipes!”

    — Leila Marie Lawler, Author, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life

  • “Soul Gardening Journal has been a sororal hymn to bodily life, a paean of incarnate womanhood. Finding it in my mailbox made that day a celebration day. Every inch handmade, from the warm pen-and-ink drawings to the prose hymns of appreciation for the physical creation, Soul Garden anchors you firmly in your home soil, while it draws you into the timeless and borderless community of women being women, together.”

    — Beth Dougherty, Author, The Independent Farmstead: Growing Soil, Biodiversity, and Nutrient-Dense Food with Grassfed Animals and Intensive Pasture Management

  • “For years, Soul Gardening Journal has been a handcrafted gem in a world of faceless online content, and I’ve been happy to subscribe and cheer on its authors. I am delighted that Ignatius Press now has a rich compilation of the best Soul Gardening essays and that even more Catholic women will discover this rooted and grounded journal, which has enriched my life. May the ‘garden’ grow further!”

    — Regina Doman, Author, The Culture Recovery Journals and The Fairy Tale Novels series

  • “Through a collection of short essays, poems, and reflections from a variety of Catholic mothers, the authors invite us to reconsider the merits of our modern, fast-paced lives by stepping back to dwell in the present and ponder living each moment more intentionally. The unique perspective provided in this book will surely help any mom reflect in a new way on the simple joys of motherhood.”

    — Emily Jaminet, Author, Holy Habits from the Sacred Heart: Ten Ways to Build Stronger, More Loving Relationships

  • “I was shocked by the audacity of the concept when my dear friend Hope Schneir told me she was retiring her blog to turn it into a real paper-and-ink journal. But nothing could be more fitting than that these beautiful pieces, collected and shared over so many years, filled with wit, wisdom, encouragement, and commiseration, will now live on in book form to continue to inspire women of all generations.”

    — Kendra Tierney Norton, Author, The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Hope Schneir

Hope Schneir is a mother of 10, recording artist, and co-editor of Soul Gardening Journal. She serves on the boards of Franciscan University of Steubenville and Humanality, a non-profit devoted to tech minimalism. She and her husband, Justin, make their home in Lander, Wyoming, where she loves to teach folk songs to children and to hike under blue skies.

Hope and Justin's music can be found here.

Sia Hoyt

Sia Hoyt makes her home in beautiful Washington state where she delights in her current peninsula life with ferries, water views and the cries of the seagulls. Sustaining herself with prayer and invigorating swims in the rivers, lakes and Pacific ocean, Sia is mother of 8, stepmother of 7, and a potter, writer and teacher. She loves stormy nights and hot cups of tea, and she’s passionate about the art of the everyday and the hidden life of Nazareth.

We would love to hear from you!

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