Writing

BOOKS

As a spiritual director, I walk with people as they journey with Jesus. Part of that journey is a longing to take time away with God to rest, whether a practice of sabbath, retreat or sabbatical. While many might agree on the necessity of rest, even extended retreats in solitude, few practice this rhythm in their day-to-day lives. I noticed that many of my directees, when faced with time alone with God, wrestled with how to use their time, and often left their retreats feeling discouraged, dismayed, and disillusioned. I began writing retreat guides for directees and friends as a way to offer step-by-step instructions for their time away with God. Come Away and Rest closes the gap between hearing God’s invitation to rest and putting it into practice in a sustainable, life-giving rhythm.

In Come Away and Rest, you will find:

Guidance for how to prepare for a personal spiritual retreat
Step-by-step instructions for crafting six personal retreats, ranging between six hours to several days
Wisdom for re-entering life after a retreat

REVIEWS

Alyson Pryor's guide to personal retreat is an urgently needed resource to gently guide us into Jesus' habit of coming away to be with his Father. Weaning us from our need to perform and produce, even in our spiritual lives, Pryor provides practical support for meeting with God in seasons of exhaustion, uncertainty, and grief. I will treasure this guide for myself and highly recommend it to others!

Jen Pollock Michel

Author of Teach Us to Want and Surprised by Paradox

In a world of hustle and hurry, we often choose to function on adrenaline and to-do lists, only to then collapse in exhaustion by checking out, numbing, or stuffing all the challenging parts of being human. In Come Away and Rest, Alyson Pryor is a gentle guide to show us a better way. Her book—practical, inviting, and centered on Jesus' gracious invitation—is a needed tonic for our digital age.

Ed Stetzer

Dean of the Talbot School of Theology

Drawing on her personal experience and training, author Alyson Pryor offers a long overdue, practical, informative, and insightful resource for the church and for everyone who feels called or needs to step aside, opening their lives and hearts to God. This is not just a book but a companion that will help find rest for your soul.

Larry Warner

Author of Discernment, God's Will & Living Jesus

Alyson Pryor nails a reality that transcends the physical and invades our spiritual, emotional, relational and other aspects of life. We are hyper-driven and desperate for peace. In these pages Alyson not only shows us the importance of times of solitude, silence, and rest; she shows us just how to go about it in practical and specific ways. This is a book for our time.

Ashley Hales

Editorial director for print at Christianity Today, author of A Spacious Life and Finding Holy in the Suburbs, and coauthor, with Bryce Hales, of A Fruitful Life

Alyson Pryor is one of those rare spiritual directors who speaks with the wisdom of God, authenticity of character, and clarity of experience. I know this because she's walked closely with me—guiding, praying, and gently helping me reorient toward God's presence in my own life. In Come Away and Rest, Alyson doesn't just tell us we need time away with Jesus; she shows us how to actually do it. This book will awaken your desire and urgency for retreat, not just for what it gives you, but for who you become when you're with him.

Megan Fate Marshman

Bible teacher, speaker, and author of Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing

I am a proud contributor to the Women’s Devotional Bible, written by women for women (August 2025). This devotional bible invites women of all ages and life experiences to explore what it means to be made in God’s image and called into his mission through our unique design. With relatable insights into the experiences of women throughout scripture, alongside the wisdom of women in our contemporary context, this devotional bible expands our imagination for living out faithfulness in today’s world.

Special features include:

320 topical devotions,
Contributions written by women of diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, and vocations,
Special Biblical section introductions highlighting the needs and interests of women,
52 profiles on important figures in the Bible,
Space and sensitivity for women to engage difficult Bible passages,
Fresh and candid insights into often-neglected Biblical passages and personalities.

The musings you will find here are often about nothing at all but about everything that matters to me. It is about having too much: 5 kids, 3 cars, one over-active husband, and one lazy dog. I nod along with the old ladies observing me in Target with five kids in tow. “You’ve got your hands full!” they love to say, and I agree since I know they mean it in the best way. I like, especially, when they ask if they are all mine, as though for fun, I pick up my friend’s kids on a Saturday morning for a sweaty, maniacal jaunt to Target.

In another sense, I write about not having enough: time, energy, money, faith. I feel as though I could be a lot more spiritual if I was not interrupted every 5 minutes by people who have lost their reading log, or are just wondering how whales sleep or would like to know for the 15th time when dinner will be ready. (Spoiler: it is at the same time every day.) I’m trying to find God in this tension of abundance and lack; trying to find Him in the chaos and noise and demands. If the little I know about Him is true, He is out there finding me too, snagging my attention with neon sunsets and perfectly risen loaves of bread. I’m beginning to see how He can be found, not only outside of, or before, but within the messy, the mundane, and the ordinary.

Along with essays here, I’ve written for several online and print publications, including (in)Courage Magazine, Homefront Magazine, Just Between Us, MomCo Magazine and many others. I contributed six essays to The Message Women’s Devotional Bible (Navpress, 2025). I am a proud member of the Redbud Writers Guild, a group of diverse writers seeking to influence faith and culture by expanding the feminine, theological voice. My first book, Come Away and Rest: A Guide to Personal, Spiritual Retreats, will be available at all major retailers in January 2026. If you like what you read here, I think you’ll like that too.