Jennifer Sokol

Meet Author Jennifer Sokol

My “writing career” began early on, while corresponding with my large family. The ninth of ten children, over the years, I scribbled out literally hundreds of notes, which were sealed in envelopes, then dropped into mailboxes. Cheap, long distance phone rates were unavailable in those days, so these simple communications sowed the unwitting seeds of my later calling.

In the meantime, I focused energy on becoming a professional violinist. I followed the lead of four of my older sisters and attended Indiana University. Like a few hundred other violin majors there, I spent hours sweating over etudes, perfecting concertos, and mastering the intricacies of Bach. Was there any time left for other subjects? There had to be––I needed a general credit. So I took a step beyond my letter writing skills and signed up for a correspondence writing course. The outcome was favorable. “This time, you wrote from your heart!” the instructor informed me in her final evaluation. I never forgot her encouraging words.
    

Soon, my heart led in a new direction, when I heard God whisper, Be a nun. What? Me? What a surprising notion. But after further discernment during my postgraduate year as a freelance violinist, I answered the call. In August of 1981, I entered a Carmelite monastery. Life, it seemed, had set its course, but the ways of the Spirit dictated differently. After ten challenging years in the religious life, I returned home, once again seeking God’s will.
 

That’s when my mother Agatha suffered a crippling stroke and I became her main caregiver. After her death in 1998, I delved into the work of writing a memoir of our experience. Concurrently with my life as a freelance violinist––teaching students, performing with groups such as the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera, and managing my own Cameo String Quartet––I now had the joy of seeing articles and essays of mine appear in The Catholic Northwest Progress, Family Digest, Catholic Digest, St. Joseph’s Messenger, and Hereditas Magazine.
 

My joy continues as I look after my dear father now. With gratitude for the publication of my first book, Six Years of Grace, I look forward to whatever lies ahead, writing world and all!