Cathy Fox
SHAWVILLE – More than thirty people assembled at the Pontiac Archives in Shawville on Wednesday, February 28, for the launch of Esther Colpitts’ first book, The Apple Out My Window: Things I Learned in a Little Town. An accomplished singer and songwriter, Colpitts can now add published author to her list of achievements.
Friends and neighbours greeted Colpitts with hugs, flowers and congratulations at a table laid out with flowers, books and CDs.
Colpitts began her presentation by explaining how she came to publish her collection of stories, dating back to 2003. The stories were written for a column in The Equity and as gifts of encouragement for others. She then gave an overview of her spiritual growth over the course of her life, giving the background to several key moments while reading a particular story or performing a pertinent song. She grappled honestly with emotional struggles, but always concluded with hope and a deepened faith.
Her simply worded reflections were often based on everyday happenings giving the reader a glimpse of God that even a child could grasp. She admonished that if we were to accept this world as simply a matter of random evolution, we would have no hope.
As she played guitar and sang, her melodic voice was as soulful as the words were soothing, leaving the audience amazed and refreshed. One attendee remarked that this was a unique event that could only have happened in such a safe and spiritually focused area.
The event ended with the crowd spontaneously accompanying Colpitts in singing a verse of Amazing Grace. About a dozen attendees joined Colpitts for lunch at Café 349 after the event.
The Apple Out My Window: Things I Learned in a Little Town is available at amazon.ca.
