'Soul' is a comforting mix

Open the pages of this little book created by two area women and you'll find a simplicity that whispers the truth.

"How Goes It With Your Soul" (Jackson & Stephens Press, $12.95) is a friendship of words and watercolors created by Peggy Dyson of Lake City and Patrice Moore of Gainesville.

"The book feeds the spirit and calms the soul," Dyson said.

Dyson and Moore said they published the book to serve, support and encourage people facing life's challenges.

Patrice Moore, left, and Peggy Dyson are the authors of "How Goes It With Your Soul: Simple Truths to Live By," a book of inspirational words and watercolors. JON M. FLETCHER/The Gainesville Sun

The book, on the market now for six weeks, took a year and a half to produce and was born from the women's personal experiences.

Moore's watercolors stem from the deaths of her father and brother, who died within weeks of each other in December 1991. She said she needed more than words to express the depth of her feelings to help her heal.

"I was having trouble coping with so much death in my life," said Moore, a registered nurse. "I needed something to step out of concrete experience."

In the book's dedication, Moore credits the deaths for transforming her life into new depths of humility, compassion and love.

Today, Moore consults with the Watershed Group (www.the watershedgroup.com), a consulting company that works with hospices and health care organizations, and is a motivational and inspirational speaker. She founded the Watershed after establishing and working for 16 years at the Hospice for North Central Florida. She also established her publishing company, Jackson & Stephens Press, which she named after her father and brother.

Dyson, who has a bachelor's degree in math and a master's in religious education and social work, said her published sayings are a 28-year collection of wisdom and experience with different cultures. Originally from Abbeville, La., Dyson has worked with Native American children in Ponca City, Okla., where her parents served as missionaries; she taught math in a black middle school in Gulf Port, Miss.; and led the music program at a Spanish-language church in Buloxi, Miss.

"How Goes It With Your Soul" (Jackson & Stephens Press, $12.95) was written by Peggy Dyson of Lake City and illustrated by Patrice Moore of Gainesville. The book was inspired by their personal experiences.

"How Goes It With Your Soul" is a sharing of wisdom, but both women hope the book can also help heal the country's current struggles.

On Sept. 11, Moore was at a printing and design company reviewing the final drafts of the book when she turned to a TV and watched the attacks on the World Trade Center towers.

She said she then turned to the draft sheets and focused on one saying: God outlasts turmoil.

"The saying just popped out," Moore said. "It was as if it were out there for me to see."

The incident left her with the impression that the book had gained more meaning.

"People's lives are so busy," Dyson said. "They need something to calm them down.

The book is available at Goerings Book Store, Book Gallery West, High Springs Gallery, Upper- crust, Queen of Peace Church and Unity Church Bookstore.