A preview of the new CD!! Look for it in stores beginning December 1st ...

Welcome to November!

As the glorious fall we've enjoyed this year draws closer to winter, I have much to celebrate.

• On October 26th, my beautiful new niece, Hannah Margarite Long, was born, arriving just in time to brighten chemo week #4.

• On November 2nd, I turned in The Music of Life for manufacturing and anticipate having my new CD into stores by December 1st!!

• As you are receiving this email, my completely redesigned website is also launching, thanks to the diligent efforts of Gregory Byerline!!  The new site features video clips of the Acoustic Trio as well as my speaking topics, an online store where you can buy ALL of my CD's and books, a current calendar of the Trio's performances, archived newsletters and all sorts of good things. Go to www.ruthmcginnis.com ... check it out!!

• And I very much look forward to a performance with the Acoustic Trio at Davis Kidd on Friday, November 10th, and a special Music of Life Presentation at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ on Saturday, November 11th.

As we accelerate into the holiday season, I am giving thanks for more simple joys than I could have counted before my cancer diagnosis. I hope you have things in your life to be thankful for as well, as you continue to vibrantly live the day in front of you.

Are you interested in booking Ruth and The Acoustic Trio for your private event? Please contact us at info@ruthmcginnis.com   ****   Ruth's Acoustic Trio is Karin Simmons - Keyboards; John Pell - Guitar; Dennis Solee - All things wind!

LIVE: Ruth and The Acoustic Trio

Ruth has completed her new The Music of Life CD,

to be in stores in time for Christmas.

We'll look forward to seeing you over the

upcoming holiday season

Davis Kidd at the Green Hills Mall

Friday, November 10th

7:00 - 9:00pm

Everyone is welcome to this lovely, free setting!

We've enjoyed great crowds the last couple months!

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"An Evening Of Music and Inspiration"

When: Saturday, November 11th at 7:00pm

Cost: Tickets are $10.00

Space is limited!

For more information, please call Jane Travis at

(615) 373-0601 ext. 10

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Brentwood Rotary Club

Private Luncheon

 Friday, December 1st, 2006

Brentwood, TN

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 Grace Presbyterian Church

Private Christmas Banquet

 Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

 Nashville, TN

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 Davis Kidd at the Green Hills Mall

Sunday, December 17th

 4:30 - 6:30pm

 Just in time to help you wrap up your Christmas shopping...

Tips for Healthy Living

November's Recipe of the Month

White Beans & Cornbread

(A lighter take on an old Southern favorite)

2 tsps. extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 15oz cans Great Northern Beans, undrained

1 cup Chicken broth (I prefer the lower sodium varieties)

1/2 Pkg. Healthy Choice brand smoked sausage

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

few dashes of hot sauce (or to taste) 

One box of Jiffy Brand Corn Muffin mix, prepared

In a large pot, heat the 2 tsp. of olive oil until hot; add the chopped onion and saute for 1 minute until soft. Add the chopped garlic stirring so it doesn't burn. Cut the smoked sausage into bite sized pieces and add to the pot; saute for another minute or so.

Add both cans of beans, chicken broth, bay leaves, salt, pepper and hot sauce (if desired). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until thickened. (I let it simmer as long as it takes me to make & bake the cornbread). Remove the bay leaves before serving.

To bake corn muffin mix, follow the directions on the package. For a lighter version, you may substitute Egg Beaters for the egg and skim milk for the whole milk. Try making mini-muffins or baking it in an 8x8 pan to change things up a little.

To serve, take one corn muffin and cut in half on a plate. Spoon a generous amount of the white beans & sausage mixture over the top. Add a fresh tossed salad and a glass of homemade iced tea to complete the meal!

 Celebrating the Imperfect Life!

Seminars and Workshops on Well-being

After being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Ruth is even more inspired

and committed to share her message of well-being, life meaning and

balance, to encourage audiences of all ages to Celebrate the Imperfect Life.

Ruth is currently scheduling events for 2007.

If you are interested in booking a Music of Life seminar or workshop event,

The Music Of Life:
Journal Entries from my Season with Cancer

During this season I have thought often about my aunt Cathy, who went through a grueling chemotherapy regimen to battle advanced non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1996.  I traveled many times to Warrensburg, Illinois during her illness, to support and encourage her as best I could. I remember the helpless feeling of trying to relate to what she was going through, even though I'd worked at Vanderbilt Cancer Clinic as a volunteer, and was somewhat equipped to serve her. I also remember how disappointed I felt when, after offering to make the drive north to spend time with her, she would ask me not to come during certain phases of her treatment. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want me there to help in any way possible - and I was terrified of losing her, and missing out on precious time spent together.

Now I understand. I understand, as only one who has experienced the unpleasant hammer of chemo side effects, the very private walk of a cancer patient. Two days after each treatment, I hit a wall of fatigue, queasiness and discomfort that require the entire focus of my being to simply get through the next 48 hours, one hour at a time. I know that my family, friends, neighbors and of course, my husband, want to help me in countless loving ways - but at the end of the day, the experience is mine alone. I have to manage side effects the best that I can, hunker down, and weather the storm.

But the discomfort and challenge of cancer treatment is only one part of the journey. There is another part that is joyous, celebratory - and this too, can be hard to understand, unless you've faced a life threatening disease. As baffling as this may seem, I am experiencing a new kind of life I wouldn't want to have missed, through a diagnosis I'd never have chosen.

Cancer changes people, and it has changed me. I have an exquisitely heightened appreciation for the simplest things in life. I can't adequately describe the pleasure I feel, one week after chemo, when a cup of Starbucks coffee with half & half actually tastes good. Or the sense of satisfaction and gratitude I have felt during my rebound weeks, when I can play live music with the trio. Or the simple pleasure of getting out to Kroger in Green Hills and talking to Jim, who works in the produce section. (Jim, who I only know from my weekly Kroger trips - who almost cried earlier this year, when I told him of my diagnosis.) Or the elation I experience when I feel good enough to go running between chemo treatments - how doing almost anything that was "normal" in my pre-cancer life - borders on ecstasy.

I can remember my aunt telling me about a good day she'd had between treatments, getting out to a shopping mall, and while resting on a bench, striking up a conversation with a complete stranger. She described the encounter with a lilt in her voice - the pleasure of sharing a random moment, authentically connecting with a person she would never see again. At the time, I couldn't understand why this would be so special for her, or what made it so memorable. Now, I understand. It is the gift of being fully engaged in the present moment, thirsty for the beauty of an ordinary day. It is the blessed clarity that comes when the veil of pretense, and petty grievances about things that don't matter, is entirely swept away.

It is one of the many, unexpected, gifts of cancer.