I'm Aisha Roscoe and you're listening to The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story.

Today, we're going to slow it down.

Sometimes life can feel nonstop.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

But whenever I get a bit of quiet, I'll try and, you know, maybe do some coloring by numbers, or I'll pick up a book.

Recently, I read a novel called Ruth, and it stuck with me because of the questions it posed about the way we live.

The novel was written by Kate Riley, who drew from her own experiences living for a time in a Christian commune.

It was a place where individualism was sacrificed for the needs of the community and the greater good.

Now, that is far from what I personally desire.

But I was so intrigued because Kate, as a young woman, went against that societal push towards personal achievement

and instead went in like the direct opposite direction and sought out this quiet life, one without a lot of

thrills and distractions. And it offered her a sense of purpose, meaning, and peace, something

she hadn't found anywhere else. And it was some of the happiest time of my life. Kate grew up in New York

City, and while in college, she found herself asking big questions about her role in the world.

I was preoccupied with being a good person, and I studied philosophy in college, and I did not

find any answers. I recently sat down with Kate Riley to talk

about her story and what led her to write the novel. Now, of course, the title character of the book,

Ruth, is not Kate. The character Ruth was born in 1963 and grew up inside a Christian commune.

But the fictional woman seemed like a vessel that allowed Kate to explore her own feelings

about a slower and more intentional life.

You're listening to The Sunday Story. Stay with us.

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