Teresa Jordan

Collects essays describing the author's attempts to live according to a list of traditional virtues compiled by Benjamin Franklin, one week at a time, and one virtue at a time.

weekends off

A year of living virtuously

James Hepworth

Twenty personal essays by contemporary women writers range across cultures and regions of the West

Contemporary Women Write about the West : an Anthology

The Stories that Shape Us

Benjamin Franklin was in his early twenties when he embarked on a "bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection," intending to master the virtues of temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He soon gave up on perfection but continued to believe that these virtues, coupled with a generous heart and a bemused acceptance of human frailty, laid the foundation for not only a good life but also a workable society. Writer and visual artist Teresa Jordan wondered if Franklin's perhaps antiquated notions of virtue might offer guidance to a nation increasingly divided by angry righteousness. She decided to try to live his list for a year, focusing on each virtue for a week at a time and taking weekends off to attend to the seven deadly sins. The journal she kept became this collection of beautifully illustrated essays, weaving personal anecdotes with the views of theologians, philosophers, ethicists, evolutionary biologists, and a whole range of scholars and scientists within the emerging field of consciousness studies. Teresa Jordan offers a wry and intimate journey into a year in midlife devoted to the challenge of trying to live authentically.

Weekends Off

The Year of Living Virtuously

American lore has slighted the cowgirl, although at least one can still be found in nearly every ranching community. Like her male counterpart, she rides and ropes, understands land and stock, and confronts the elements. The writer and photographer Teresa Jordan traveled sixty thousand miles in the American West, talking with more than a hundred authentic cowgirls running ranches and performing in rodeos. The result is a fascinating book that also situates the cowgirl in history and literature. A new preface and updated bibliography have been added to this Bison Book edition.

Women of the American West

Cowgirls

The author presents a portrait of three generations of her family in the rural West, their links to the family's Wyoming ranch, and the loss of their rural lifestyle

Teresa Jordan

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