The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved

We wear busyness as a badge of accomplishment and personal success. But when we use it to fill a void, being busy can become an addiction. Busyness helps us feel better—or feel nothing—but the benefit doesn’t come without cost.

Adoptee Linda Hoye used it to ease the ache she felt over the loss of her first mother’s love. She retired from the corporate world, looking forward to the opportunity to slow down and turn her attention to creative pursuits like photography, writing, and gardening, but found herself stuck. So accustomed to being busy, she had forgotten how to be anything else.

This is a spiritual memoir about a longing many of us have for something we struggle to articulate. It’s about fear, brokenness, and the mystery of stillness, solitude, and silence. It is the story of a sacred journey to a lost mother, a found family, and an encounter with divine love.