I think every single person is telling a story. This is a story of great love, high drama, and grand adventure. It is the story of your life. Is it a comedy? Is it a tragedy? Is it an epic? You get to decide.
Nora Ephron said it’s a tragedy when you slip on a banana peel and everybody laughs at you. But if you tell the story yourself, if you turn it into a funny anecdote, you get the laugh. You’ve reclaimed it.
The stories we tell about ourselves, about our culture, matter. Stories are everything. Stories are more real and more true than anything else in the world. From the moment we are small children we are told stories, and the good ones stay with us.
Kathleen Kelly said it best -
“When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.”
My identity is wrapped up in the identities of Jo March and Lucy Pevensie and Frodo Baggins and Betsy Ray and Harry Potter. These characters taught me to be brave and hopeful and kind and I return to them again and again when I need to be reminded of what is true about myself, beyond all the passing things.
Flannery O’Connor used to pray to be able to write, but only if she was telling a bigger story, a true story.
"Don't let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story-just like the typewriter was mine."
So that’s what I’m trying to do. In celebrating and drawing attention to everyday wonders - hot black coffee, the first smell of fall in the air, a baby laughing, a dog barking - and the big wonders - the wild vastness of the Scottish Highlands, the myths and legends that shaped the history of the world (C.S. Lewis’s ‘good dreams’), the beautiful novels and stories we read and reread - we realize our essential place in the Story of the World.
“We make idols of our concepts but wisdom is
Born of Wonder.”
About Me
I’m the mother of two little girls and the wife of a wonderful man and these are the most important facts of my life.
I majored in English literature and religious studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, studied for a term at Oxford, then went on to receive a masters in Conflict Resolution and a certificate in humanitarian and refugee emergencies from Georgetown University.
I studied and did post-conflict work in South Africa and Rwanda and then found my way to an internship with a radio program that focused on interfaith dialogue. I became enamored not just with producing, but with audio editing and sound design.
I went on to work in public radio as a producer and audio editor for a few years before taking a step back to pursue freelance and contracts while raising my two small daughters.
I enjoy horseback riding, traveling, listening to fiddle music, reading, debating, and watching Downton Abbey (and pretty much any British period drama). I own an Icelandic horse - once you’ve ‘tolted’ who can trot anymore? I like hiking, but not camping. I love a good cozy mulled wine by the fire.
I live on the East Coast in the USA, but the Scottish Highlands is my absolute favorite place in the world. Oxford and Edinburgh are the only cities I can imagine myself living in. I’m happiest in the countryside and we live on a farm with horses, dogs, and a lot of barn cats.
I logged off all social media (you can read about why here) so the best way to contact me is by email: marquettekatie@gmail.com or by visiting my website: www.bornofwonder.com
I started the Born of Wonder podcast in 2021. I was inspired by words attributed to St. Gregory the Great - “we make idols of our concepts, but wisdom is born of wonder.” In other words, what makes life worth living is a sense of wonder and awe.
On this podcast I explore literature, art, philosophy, theology, liturgy, and culture with an aim of bringing us all to a state of gratitude and receptivity to the many wonders in this life. You can find Born of Wonder on podbean iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you download your podcasts.
I also do professional audio editing work - if you need some sharp sound design, a content editor, someone to conduct professional quality remote interviews, etc., I can help you out. You can visit my website: MediaMarq
Why Subscribe?
Mostly I think you should subscribe because creative types deserve some monetary compensation for their work. Yes this is a passion project. It gives me incredible joy to share and write and produce. It also costs money (audio subscriptions, hosting platforms) and is incredibly time consuming. We’ve gotten very used to content on the internet being free, but if we ever want to give some control back to individuals (instead of corporations) we need to take opportunities to support people doing good work.
If Born of Wonder is bringing value to your life, know how much I appreciate you simply subscribing, sharing, and following along. But if it is in your budget to support this work, please consider an upgrade.
becoming a paid subscriber gives you:
- full access to the archives (most posts are paywalled after 2 weeks)
- at least one subscriber-only essay a month (character profiles, in-depth author reports, or just something personal)
paid subscribers also give me flexibility to write here instead of doing contract work elsewhere.
you’re also saying, hey this is a lot of work and I appreciate it!
