Latest Book
My Soul’s Journey to Redefine Leadership: A New Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of 9/11
Listen to my book on audible now! Buy it here. Read what can’t be conveyed auditorially–pictures, diagrams, endorsements here.
Read Dr. Patricia Mische’s Review in the Journal of Social Sciences here.
“My book, My Soul’s Journey to Redefine Leadership: A New Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of 9/11, chronicles why I brought all my resources from 30 years training and coaching Reconciliation Leaders at the United Nations to the United States at this critical moment of our history.”—Virginia Swain
The story of an ordinary woman with extraordinary experiences, Virginia Swain’s soul journey takes her from the devastating loss of her brother to moments of peace, visions of a new future, and after a harrowing day in New York City on September 11, a vivid dream of a phoenix rising from the city’s ashes, calling her to a new definition of leadership — one of empowerment, reconciliation and peace.
Reflecting on a series of deeply spiritual encounters, Virginia recounts how she evolved from an overworked corporate executive to a woman who learned to live with integrity, purpose and confidence, experiencing a calling she couldn’t ignore — to bring leadership, wholeness, balance, and peace to a world torn by conflict.
Bringing the spiritual to the practical, she shares stories of moments of grace on mountaintops and by the sea, and of healing experienced by groups as diverse as attendees at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, consulting clients in California, United Nations staff, United Nations peace-builders addressing religious conflict in the Philippines, and refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
As her journey unfolds, she finds her vocation, a life partner, a new perspective on death, and a sense of her own worth and capacity to contribute to her country and our world. Throughout this compelling narrative, Phoenix invites the reader to undertake their own soul journey, closing each chapter with journal questions to prompt further reflection.
Virginia calls her book her “white paper with God” because of her inner preparation and lived struggles. Below shows how her book and Dag Hammarskjöld’s leadership code interconnect.
“Virginia Swain’s memoir is inspiring. It is rare for us mere humans to know God directly, far more rare to repeatedly receive divine guidance throughout life. We see how Virginia’s willingness to listen and obey God leads her back and forth across the country, into and out of relationships and very different tasks. She is led and supported by God’s loving affirmation. The book answers both what a Spirit-led life looks like and how a loving God nurtures individuals.” Quaker Michael Resman, Co-editor, What Canst Thou Say and editor, Immersed in Prayer: Shories from Lives of Prayer. A brief summary of Virginia’s story is on page 70.
Book Endorsements | Read the Foreward | Afterwards
First Book
A Mantle of Roses: A Woman’s Journey Home to Peace
“I am an ordinary woman with extraordinary experiences. My story begins in 1979 when I felt a leading I couldn’t ignore… Because I have a certainty of what I am being led to do with my life, I understand now how I can make a difference in the world.”
Read Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury’s response to A Mantle of Roses: A Woman’s Journey Home to Peace
Read a Strategies Review