Ordinary Time

In her first book, a heartfelt memoir on finding purpose, the popular From the Front Porch podcast host and independent bookstore owner challenges the idea that loud lives are the ones that matter most, reminding us that we don't have to leave the lives we have in order to have the lives of which we've always dreamed.

Can life be an adventure, even when it’s just . . . ordinary?

Annie B. Jones always assumed adulthood would mean adventure: a high-powered career; life in a big, bustling city; and travels to far-flung places she’d longed to see. But her reality turned out differently. As the years passed, Annie was still in the same small town in the American South running an independent bookstore —the kind of life Nora Ephron dreamed.

During that time, she hosted friends’ goodbye parties and mailed parting gifts; wrote recommendation letters and wished former shop staffers well. She stayed in her small town, despite her love of big cities; stayed in her marriage to the guy she met when she was eighteen; and she stayed at her bookstore while the world outside shifted steadily toward digital retailers. And she stayed loyal to a faith she sometimes didn’t recognize.

After ten years, Annie realized she might never leave. But instead of regret, she had an epiphany. She awakened to the gifts of a quiet life spent staying put.

In Ordinary Time, Annie challenges the idea that loud lives matter most. Rummaging through her small-town existence in this book about books, she finds hidden gifts of humor and hope from a life lived quietly. Staying, can itself be a radical act. It takes courage to stay in the places we’ve always called home, Annie argues, as she paints a portrait of possibility far away from thriving metropolises and Monica Gellar-inspired apartments.

We’ve long been encouraged to follow our dreams, to pack up and move to new places and leave old lives—and past selves—behind. While there is beauty in these kinds of adventures, Ordinary Time helps us see ourselves right where we are: in the middle of messy, mundane lives, maybe not too far from where we grew up. We don’t have to leave to find what we yearn—we can choose to stay, celebrating and honoring our ordinary lives, which might turn out to be bigger and better than we ever imagined. 

This collection of warm and witty essays explores the profound beauty of a life lived in place, delivering:
Small Business Ownership: The real story of running an independent bookstore—the joys of unboxing new books, the challenges of being the boss, and the grief of losing beloved customers.The Radical Act of Staying Put: A powerful counter-narrative to our culture’s obsession with leaving, arguing that choosing to stay in one place can be the greatest adventure of all.Finding Community in Adulthood: Honest reflections on the challenges of making friends as a grown-up, from hosting goodbye parties for those who leave to discovering friendship in a YMCA line-dancing class.An Honest Faith Journey: A vulnerable look at what happens when the faith you grew up with no longer fits, and the difficult, beautiful process of leaving one church to stay true to Jesus.