By Kathy Chouteau
Richmond’s Lily Iona MacKenzie has two recent books sewn up—Dreaming Myself into Old Age: One Woman’s Search for Meaning and California Dreaming—and according to the author, the arts take center stage in both.
Shanti Arts will publish Dreaming Myself into Old Age on Sept. 19, while it recently published her poetry collection California Dreaming earlier this summer on June 27. A Zoom book launch is set for Sept. 23 at 11:30 a.m., during which MacKenzie said she and her Editor/Publisher Christine Cote will explore some of the main themes in her recent books.
MacKenzie said that her latest work, Dreaming Myself into Old Age, is a memoir that asks readers to accompany her on her quest for self-discovery. The author has recorded her nightly dreams in her daily journal since her 20s and also worked with Jungian analysts to help her “go deeper into her dreams.”
Now an octogenarian, MacKenzie has found the dream world often sheds light on everyday life, revealing insights that people might otherwise not discover. She says she’s determined to “age gracefully and thoughtfully” and that her book not only shows how night dreams have influenced her, but also how the arts have fed her waking and dreaming self.
The previously released California Dreaming shares MacKenzie’s zest for life via a collection of poems that reveal her discovery of the poetry in everything spanning from travel, to art, to music and more, according to Kathleen McClung on Amazon.
Check out MacKenzie’s blog about writing and reading here.
