The night I met Emma Lou Thayne

I wish I could have taken all of my friends, sisters, and cousins to Salt Lake with me tonight. I wish they could have listened to the passionate, educated, informed women who shared their insights and opinions in such articulate and moving ways. I wish they could have felt as empowered, enriched, and inspired as I did when I left Salt Lake feeling motived to do more, be more, write more.

Tonight the Mormon Women Project hosted their second annual Salon ("salon" in the old fashioned sense of intellectuals meeting to discuss and exchange ideas, not a place to get your hair done) in Salt Lake and I registered for it kind of on a whim. I found out about it through the Segullah blog and was intrigued by the promise of enlightening conversation and Emma Lou Thayne as the keynote speaker. (Emma Lou Thayne wrote the words to the LDS hymn "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" as well as fourteen books of prose and poetry.) My mom has instilled a love of Emma Lou Thayne in me since I was old enough to hero-worship someone, so I invited her to come with me. We were both blown away by the openness of the dialogue and the depth of thought and feeling. The Salon was something between a seminar and a women's conference, a blend of the spiritual, intellectual, and practical. We were all there as Mormon women striving to live fuller, richer lives and that's what it was all about - how to do that.

Emma Lou Thayne's keynote address was witty, moving, wonderful, and gave me all kinds of thoughts to ponder. During a break in the evening while everyone was getting food, my mom saw Emma Lou standing by herself for a moment. "Do you want to meet her?" she asked, grabbing my hand.

"Well, yeah..." I said, reluctant to put myself forward, but my mom was already pulling me across the room. Mom had met Emma Lou Thayne more than once so she didn't hesitate to ask if she remembered her and begin a conversation.

"This is my daughter," my mom introduced me. "She's going to be a writer."

"Oh, really?" Emma Lou asked, genuinely interested in this information.

"I am a writer, Mom," I smilingly corrected, a little embarrassed at giving myself a title I don't know if I've earned when I was standing next to someone who had fourteen published books.

But Emma Lou, gracious and kind, didn't miss a beat. "Oh, it's a wonderful life," she told me. "You get to travel and meet so many interesting people."

I nodded, the excitement of meeting her making my head bounce a little too much.

"Write," Emma Lou said to me, her eyes looking straight into mine. "Just write. Don't let anything stop you."

The conversation continued as my mom and Emma Lou remembered shared experiences and women's retreats of years past. I listened, in love with the moment and repeating to myself Emma Lou's words. Write. Just write. I took them into my heart and felt the possibility of my talents toss their heads, paw at the ground, and stand a little taller. Don't let anything stop you.

It was an incredible evening, but I think that moment with Emma Lou Thayne was the highlight. It wasn't just the excitement of meeting someone I admire artistically, but meeting someone I admire who was also so accessible. There was nothing pretentious or pretended about her; she was completely herself, totally authentic. It was only a few minutes and I mostly just listened to her talk to my mom, but in that one moment, she managed to focus on me and not only encourage me to write, but make me feel like my words are worth writing. I haven't felt that in a long time, and I walked away from that moment in a haze of glorious aspirations.

More than anything, I wish that I could give some of Emma Lou's self-assured yet totally unassuming confidence to all the women in my life, including (and maybe especially) myself. That kind of gift would be absolutely priceless. Everyone, mark your calendars for next year; we're all going to go be inspired together.