Dearest Simple Abundance Reader,

Welcome to our new offering, Simple Abundance Close to Home. Here, you’ll find a wonderful group of women trained by me to teach Simple Abundance workshops, both in person and online.

One of the most delightful discoveries I made after the original Simple Abundance was published in November 1995 was the lasting friendships women formed with others who stood in line together during my publicity tours. And this was before the emergence of book clubs and social media.

And when I started giving workshops almost twenty years ago, even though the women were strangers, the group's buoyant exuberance felt like stepping into the biggest extended-family reunion ever!

When I adapted and rewrote Simple Abundance for the 21st century (published in November 2019), I realized that a new generation of women was seeking the Simple Abundance Graces—Gratitude, Simplicity, Order, Harmony, Beauty, and Joy—and it became clear to me that I needed to see if some of the women who had attended all my workshops wanted to branch out and teach Simple Abundance to other women.

The incredible group of women featured in this section is truly remarkable. Their lives — each so unique yet genuine — inspire me with deep admiration for every Simple Abundance Close to Home Certified Leader showcased here. I wholeheartedly recommend each of these special leaders. I know you'll build new friendships and gain wisdom from the life experiences of these women.

Sending you blessings on your courage and creativity,

Dearest love,

Sarah Ban Breathnach

 Meet The Simple Abundance Certified Leaders

Jona consani

Jona Consani is a woman whose life has been shaped by the beliefs that opportunities are created, and your past doesn’t determine your future. Growing up in remote and impoverished areas of northern California, Jona left home at 17 to go after her dreams.

Being a truck driver like her dad was one of those dreams. Undaunted by the hostility of a male dominated industry, Jona landed her dream job at 25. From driving 18-wheelers to eventually owning two large trucking companies, Jona happily spent the next four decades in the trucking business, despite the culture remaining resistant to women.

Jona is an artist, a Certified Massage Therapist, a licensed Private Pilot, and has been a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight. She is an encourager, a dreamer, a world traveler and a fervent lover of books and opera. She spends time in her garden, practicing the piano, or gathering with friends. 

Passionate about community, Jona volunteers with numerous local and national non-profits. She spent 10+ years as a hospice bedside volunteer and bereavement counselor, and has been involved for 35+ years with Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County.

In 1998, Jona had a life-changing moment when she saw Sarah Ban Breathnach on the Oprah Show. The book, Simple Abundance, became her daily sacrament. She began to discover her authentic self and cultivate deeper creativity. A lifetime of longing for more was nurtured.  

Tiffani Roberts

Tiffani is an artist and student of the everyday who enjoys sharing her ponderings and epiphanies online. Her path with Simple Abundance began years ago when she received the pink book as a Mother’s Day gift. Like many treasures in life, it was tucked away on a bookshelf until one day when she stumbled upon Sarah’s blog, “Between the Lines,” and read the post “A Bounty of Goodness: September’s Season of Gleaning, Gathering In and Letting Go” from September 2016. This post drew her into the world of Simple Abundance and led her to pull the pink book down from the shelf once more. For the last 10 years, Tiffani has taken numerous classes with Sarah Ban Breathnach and loves reading her books for daily inspiration. From gratitude to joy, learning about and practicing each of the Simple Abundance graces has enriched Tiffani’s life creatively, practically, and spiritually.

Sharing Simple Abundance with kindred spirits is a joy for Tiffani. Her classes offer a creative excursion through the Simple Abundance Close to Home Workshop. Whether classes are held over Zoom or in a small-group setting on her back porch over coffee or tea, she welcomes all like-hearted women into an intimate exploration of the Simple Abundance graces and their treasures.

A mother at heart, Tiffani is a wife of 25 years with two teenage children. She lives quietly in rural Colorado with her family and pets. Tiffani has a soft spot for anything vintage or floral, and finds joy in quiet handwork like crochet and knitting. Old movies, tea parties, and time in nature are some of her favorite ways to slow down and savor life. She is an unabashed anglophile, with a dream of visiting the countries her ancestors once called home. You can find Tiffani online at  https://substack.com/@blissfulponderings  or contact her at blissfulponderings@gmail.com. She is also on Instagram @blissful_ponderings.

virginia lincoln

Virginia Lincoln came to Simple Abundance in the usual way - she saw Sarah on Oprah. She was hooked immediately and has read either the original version or the revised edition more than 30 times, as well as the books that followed, finding something new upon each reading. 

Virginia was a criminal prosecuting attorney in NJ. When the kids came along, she went into partnership with her husband, doing defense work, which proved to be the very opposite of what she wanted to do. She abandoned law in 2006,  giving up her license to practice soon thereafter, but continued to manage the building where their office was located until her husband, too, recently retired. She has sung with a regional chorus since 1987 and served on its Board of Trustees for 30 years including 10 years as its president. She served in various positions in the PTA when her two boys were in school and even spent a couple of years on the Board of Education. She relishes the peace that putting all that behind her has finally brought, but would never trade the joy she felt and experiences she had being a part of keeping live music in her community and in bringing a little order to the chaos of her kids’ elementary years. 

All her history in her careers, both paid and volunteer, gave her a sense of community and achievement. They also taught her how to be persuasive, thoughtful, and organized, made public speaking less terrifying, and taught her that she liked, in turn, to help others gain those same skills. 

 Virginia grew up in Massachusetts, and lives in NJ with her husband near her two adult children where she still sings, scrapbooks, takes photos, and makes jewelry and thrift shops for home decor. She collects Hummel figurines,  Limoges trinket boxes, vintage glassware and NH memorabilia. She recently opened her own Etsy store offering her homemade beaded jewelry and found vintage items. She loves to write, but only for herself. She considers her summer house in NH to be her happy place and her true home. Virginia looks forward to sharing her passion for Simple Abundance with anyone willing to listen. 

Lisa Sims Harrison

Lisa Sims Harrison is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, whose life and work embody the principles of gratitude, simplicity, and creative intention at the heart of Simple Abundance. She first met author Sarah Ban Breathnach in the early 1990s, shortly after Simple Abundance was published, and trained with her as a group leader at a conference in Orlando. That early experience shaped Lisa’s understanding of soulful living and continues to influence the way she approaches her work, home life, creativity, and connection with others.

For more than three decades, Lisa has woven Simple Abundance values into a diverse creative career. She is a writer, memoirist, and screenwriter; the founder of The Wish List Way, a personal development brand that helps women use wish lists and mindful daily practices to design meaningful lives; and the founder of SimplyFilm Productions, where she develops and produces Southern stories rooted in truth, hope, and emotional resonance. Her award-winning screenplay The Wish List and her forthcoming hybrid memoir Down to Tuscaloosa: Confessions of a Moviegoer reflect her belief that storytelling is both inheritance and healing.

Lisa has also spent many years as a nonprofit grant writer, helping organizations tell their stories with clarity and compassion. Whether she is leading a life-planning session, developing a film project, or shaping a chapter of her memoir, Lisa encourages women to honor the sacredness of ordinary days and to rediscover the hope, meaning, and possibility already present in their lives. She lives with her husband, Steve, and dachshund, Bett.

Patti Mitchell

I have been on the Simple Abundance path since 1997.  Struggling with panic attacks, I sought a therapist who recommended Simple Abundance. The daily readings resonated with me immediately. Less than a year later, I saw Sarah Ban Breathnach on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I have so much respect and admiration for her and all she has accomplished! 

I recognized that one of the causes of my panic attacks came from living with a hoarder, my husband at the time. As I sought to understand the six spiritual graces (Gratitude, Simplicity, Order, Harmony, Beauty and Joy) I began to gain more of a sense of self-worth and realized I was not living in the manner where I felt authentic.  As I purged material items, a sense of lack diminished and a sense of abundance increased!

Simplicity does not mean scarcity or lack. On the contrary, it means enjoying the simple pleasures that money cannot buy.  Abundance does not equate to monetary value. Again, this is contradictory to what truly makes us feel as though we are living abundantly.

If you have ever been made to feel less-than because you were overweight; if you have ever had a disabled child; if you have ever been divorced; if you have ever had a brother commit suicide; if you have ever lost a child; if you have ever lost a grandchild; if you have ever been abandoned because your teenage daughter became pregnant – you can become abundantly authentic. I know because I am this woman.

In November 2007, I attended Sarah’s Certified Leadership Training so that I could be contractually linked to providing classes on her behalf.  Simple Abundance is the key to changing in a way that makes sense for YOU.