Annie B. Jones on the Power of Staying Put

Today on the show we’re talking about the beauty of staying put, and we’re talking with Annie B. Jones, author of the new book Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, which comes out April 22. Annie is a podcaster herself—her books podcast, From the Front Porch, is a huge hit—and she is the owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia, one of the most well-respected bookstores in the U.S. Annie writes in Ordinary Time that she had dreams of moving to New York City, but instead stayed put, planting roots in the small town of Thomasville. This book combats the notion that one has to have a “loud” life to make a difference, and argues we don’t always have to leave the lives we have to live the lives we’ve dreamed of. Annie describes herself in the book’s very first line as “someone who stays” and, as she writes, “I have not lived the adventurous life I envisioned for myself as a teenager; I have, against all odds and dreams to the contrary, chosen to stay, and in the staying, I believe there is a story to tell.” Maybe you, too, are someone who stayed—as Annie writes in Ordinary Time, among young adults, 80 percent live within 100 miles of their hometown. But it’s not just about staying put in a geographic location: it’s about staying put in a job, in a marriage, in a faith. Annie and I talk about so much in this episode, including our shared love for books; she also tells me what she’d tell the younger version of herself, and so much more. Sometimes, it turns out, staying put can bring forth a life better than you ever imagined. Annie is a writer, a podcaster, and a bookstore owner whose work has been featured in Southern Living. She lives in Thomasville with her husband Jordan and their dog, Sam Malone, and she has quite the story to tell. Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put by Annie B. Jones