Although I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, my spiritual journey began after my mother moved my brother and me to California when I was eight. In Santa Barbara, she discovered Unity church, but she sent me to the Christian Science church down the street because they had a better children’s program.
My mother didn’t drive, so church members would pick us up, drop us off, and then she would often walk around the corner to her Unity church. Sometimes, after church, we’d stop at Thrifty’s for ice cream—a sweet ritual that became my escape route as a teenager. When my mother sent me to church alone, I’d slip out early, spend my offering money on ice cream, and read greeting cards until it was time to go home.
Despite my creative detours, something from those early years took root. I was captivated by Mary Baker Eddy’s story of hearing God’s call and mistaking it for her mother’s voice. That story stirred a deep desire in me to know God for myself.
