The Things That Saved Me

Scrabbling to save a drowning armadillo her two Labradors had chased into the backyard pool, Melynne Rust came face to face with her resourceful and resilient nature. She had forgotten this part of herself existed. Ever since her husband of thirty-three years declared he wanted a divorce, moving forward with her life had felt insurmountable. But the armadillo encounter reminded her she had tackled a lot of hard things in her life—a chaotic birthing experience, brain surgery, estrangement from her parents—and she had survived them all. Perhaps she could channel the grit and determination of her younger selves to help her tackle this new hard thing?

So Melynne revisits the hard stories of her life to reunite with her gritty and determined younger selves, only to discover surprising threads of light that give new meaning to the story she is living now.

The Things That Saved Me will inspire you to notice gifts your younger selves want to offer you—beauty, goodness, strength, wisdom—and discover ways they can continue to breathe light into your current story.

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Common Spaces Between Us

The fox and the whale. Two creatures unlikely to have anything in common. They’re different colors, different sizes, and come from completely different environments. They even breathe differently.

And yet, in this photo they’ve found some common space that overlaps their environments of land and sea. A bit awkward perhaps, but still hospitable.

Can we be like the fox and the whale and find some common space between us? Can we possibly hope to connect with one another in the midst of polarizing differences that are tearing us apart?

The last thing we might want to do is look for ways to recognize, honor, and nurture the good in one another. It’s hard work. And yet, when we do this, we often surprise ourselves in discovering common spaces between us.

That’s what happened to me. Shared through the stories of my own (often) awkward experiences working on an incredibly diverse college campus, Common Spaces Between Us offers concrete ways for us to connect with others by recognizing, honoring, and nurturing the good in the midst of our differences.

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What people are saying about

Common Spaces Between Us

“Common Spaces Between Us is a timely book! The stories presented here invite us to think, reflect, and more importantly to see our common humanity regardless of our differences and treat one another with respect and dignity.”

— Hugo Magallanes, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

“The church is blessed when ministers enter the complicated spaces where persons live, search, and struggle, and Melynne Rust has offered us a gift in sharing her own journey.”

— Ken Carter, Bishop, The United Methodist Church

“In a world that is becoming more fractured and polarized with each passing day, Common Spaces Between Us offers a much-needed alternative view. By allowing us - through her storytelling - to walk the path toward openness and acceptance with her, Melynne gifts us with visions of possibility, of grace, of hope.”

— Kathy Swaar, author, retired university instructor, retired pastor

“We are drowning in a sea of partisanship. But we can do something about it. Melynne writes about the power of relationships to overcome our fear-based separatism. The stories she shares are the proof it can be so. Her life and work have made it so. Her book is a call for us to go and make it so.”

— Steve Harper, author, speaker, retired seminary professor

“This book is relevant to people of all different beliefs and different walks of life. We live in a wonderfully diverse world, and rather than making that diversity problematic, Melynne helps us to celebrate it.”

— Missy Hart, pastor, peace and reconciliation consultant

“Melynne invites us into her story, the students’ story, and into our own story as she reveals what it is to be human alongside one another. What we have in common is the fear, the pain, the complexity and the need for connection.”

— Ramona Reynolds, BCC, ACPE Certified Educator

“Reading this book helped me understand how we all are connected on a spiritual level regardless of our religious beliefs or lack of them.”

— Gloria Rivera-Lick, retired university professional

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