Intersection Column | What About a Kilt?

by Robin Jones Gunn

When my fiancé and I started making wedding plans, I had one important question that couldn’t wait. “Are you planning to wear a kilt?” His Scottish heritage ran deep, and I knew that other men in his extended clan showed up at weddings in kilts. His brother had bagpipes at his reception. I wanted to know what Ross’s vision was for our August wedding in Southern California.

His reply was, “No kilt, but what do you think about having popsicles instead of cake?” Ingenuity and creativity still run in his veins, just as they did for his grandfather who was an inventor.

Years later when I visited Scotland for the first time, I caught a glimpse of the rugged individualism that has remained a trait throughout his bloodline. The Gunn clan hails from the far north, deep in the Highlands. I could see how the weather and terrain helped instill a tenacious spirit in his ancestors.

When I started writing Shortbread in the Highlands, I found that the affection I already had for Scotland tumbled out naturally through Nora, the character who is telling the story. She and her cousin Allie settle in their cottage in the village where their Gran grew up. The next morning Nora went outside and stood barefoot in the grass so she could watch the mist rise from the loch.

Writing that scene was one of those times as a storyteller when I could “see” the moment and feel the chill in the air. A man in a kilt was watching Nora breathe in her surroundings and asked her if she had a touch of cianalas. 

Nora did not yet know that the Scottish Gaelic word cianalas meant a deep aching nostalgia, specifically referring to a longing for the Highlands. It represents a "homesickness of the soul," often described as a hereditary need to return to one's roots. 

As the novel progresses, Nora and Allie push through the complications hindering them from solving the mystery of why their Gran sent them to her homeland. I could feel what Nora was struggling with and dearly wanted her to give space to the unexpected longing rumbling in her soul. Before the adventure of the two cousins is over, Allie says God is turning Nora’s longing into belonging.

While I was writing the book, I was in a season of longing. We’d recently moved and I was still finding my place and making new friends. Like Nora, I wanted to learn how to give space to whatever it was that God was leading me into.

I found two phrases while researching Scottish sayings for the start of each chapter. I held on to them like directional signs on the life path I’m currently walking. Maybe they will be helpful for you, too. Especially if you are at the start of a new season and feeling the rumblings of your own cianalas.

“Nothing enters in a closed hand.”

“Have God and have all.”

An armchair journey to Scotland awaits you when you read about Nora and Allie’s adventure in Shortbread in the Highlands. 

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, no. We did not serve popsicles to our 450 wedding guests. We served cake. However, after writing this book, I kind of wish we’d served an assortment of Scottish shortbread. Maybe that’s what we’ll have at our upcoming fiftieth wedding anniversary.

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About the Author

Robin Jones Gunn is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than one hundred books and winner of the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books include Gelato at the Villa, Tea with Elephants, the Sisterchicks series, and the Christy Miller series for teen girls. Robin and her husband live in Southern California, where she cohosts the Women Worth Knowing podcast. Learn more at RobinGunn.com.

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About the Book

Cousins Nora and Allie are bound by a friendship that feels more like sisterhood, so when their Gran asks them to travel to Scotland on her behalf to claim an unexpected inheritance and unearth her old diary, they jump at this chance for the trip of a lifetime together.