ORANGE CITY –  Anna Redsand, author of To Drink from the Silver Cup: From Faith through Exile and Beyond, will give a reading from her memoir Sunday, June 3 at Town Square Coffee House in Orange City. The reading will be followed by conversation and a book signing.

The event will be held from 5:00 to 7:00pm, and is free and open to the public.

Redsand, who now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was raised by Christian Reformed Church missionaries in the Navajo Nation in the Southwest.

Her story begins with her life on a Navajo reservation as the daughter of conservative CRC parents, surrounded by the love of family and community. That narrative is juxtaposed with her eventual realization that her sexual orientation would exclude her from the relationships that she held dear.

Her written journey moves from the Southwest to Denmark and New Zealand, then back, and through her exploration of Judaism, Kriya meditation and metaphysical Christianity.

Redsand has a background in education, counseling and writing and is the cofounder of two alternative schools. She taught writing at the University of New Mexico and Western Michigan University, and psychology at Diné College, which serves the Navajo Nation. She has earned advanced degrees in literature, education and clinical counseling. Redsand currently conducts workshops on spiritual journey and finding life purpose. She writes for the religion page of the Gallup Independent, and she is the author of a national and international award-winning biography, Viktor Frankl: A Life Worth Living.

Dr. Mark Achtemeier of Dubuque, author of The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, said that Redsand’s memoir is “a compelling chronicle of the journey that results when a deeply religious young woman finds herself condemned and rejected by the only faith community she has ever known.

“Her story stands as inspiring testimony to the loving persistence of divine grace through seasons of personal darkness and alienation,” he said.

Anyone who has felt outcast from a community they love will resonate with To Drink from the Silver Cup, Redsand believes.

The spiritual memoir was published by Terra Nova Books of Santa Fe in 2016.

Town Square Coffee House is located at 125 Central Avenue NE.