Nisaba and the Sacred Act of Storytelling
Image Title: Goddess Nisaba
Digital image created by: Gretchen Martens
The sacred art of storytelling began with Nisaba—Keeper of Sacred Accounts and Scribe of the Gods—around 2900 BCE. She was the Sumerian goddess of grain who invented writing and became the goddess of scribes and literacy.
Nisaba planted a seed in ancient Mesopotamia which took root five centuries later at Retreat House. I was leading a workshop for aspiring book authors in December 2018 and Retreat House co-founder Lil Smith commented, “Maybe we could write a book at Retreat House.” And the seed was watered.
In 2019 we collaboratively birthed our first four books—House of Love, House of Hope, House of Compassion, and House of Joy. We wrote from the heart with brave vulnerability. We shared sacred stories. We learned from each other, and from our missteps. We embraced the joy of writing in community. We didn’t know that we were preparing.
Because in March 2020 the pandemic arrived, just as we launched House of Blessing. Of necessity, we moved Writer’s Gathering to Zoom. And, ironically, we became a true community, not a monthly calendar item. Writing became solace. As writers we pulled together, we grew, we leaned on each other. We produced three of our four strongest books to date—House of Courage (June 2020), House of Comfort (March 2021), and House of Healing (May 2022).
The members of the Writer’s Gathering vote on titles for our upcoming books each December. We know that laughter and play are integral to the spiritual journey, but these themes proved not to be inspiring invitations for our writing. House of Laughter and House of Play were books where we failed forward and discovered who we are as a community. We learned that we prefer to go deep. We instinctively lean into brave vulnerability.
As a community of writers, a beautiful shift occurred. Maybe it was trauma bonding. Maybe it was kismet. But we began to write with coherence. We grew as individual writers, especially those of us who write for all or most of the House of books. We also grew as a community. Our individual stories and poetry organically flowed, magically forming effortless story arcs. Or perhaps it was the hand of the Nisaba.
In May 2023, we finally wrote House of Nourishment—rounding out our four strongest books. Nourishment proved to be an extension of healing, yielding a glorious blend of family stories, photos, and recipes. We’ve taken on spiritual themes—light, peace, and faith. We wrote an advent companion, The Daily Light. We’ve pondered who we are becoming as a community through the themes of remembrance, connection, gratitude, and kindness. We’ve explored the role of wonder and creativity in our lives.
And as we grew as Retreat House writers and authors, I grew. Clay Brantley, the co-founder of Writer’s Gathering, moved on to pursue a higher calling and I stepped in to facilitate the group—a threshold to my present ministry of healing through writing, storytelling, and publishing. Now 22 anthologies strong, the House of books created credibility for Village of Care Press, which has now midwifed 10 solo-authored books with six more scheduled for 2026 and four in the pipeline. And I was lovingly, irreverently gifted a nickname, “The Book Doula.”
So, how appropriate that in June 2026 we released House of Becoming. A seed planted five centuries ago has now grown to 22 anthologies with 560 sacred stories written by 82 authors.
Students in ancient Mesopotamia concluded their homework tablets with a doxology to thank the goddess for their inspiration and success, and so must we.
Praise be to Nisaba.
This reflection was written by Gretchen Martens. She facilitates the monthly Writer’s Gathering at Retreat House and shepherds the House of books through her publishing company Village of Care Press—healing the world one book, one story at a time.
Writer’s Group is held on zoom the second Friday of each month from 1 to 3 pm Central. Registration is free. Click here to register.
