Janella

Janella Pirtskhalaishvili is the founder and spiritual leader of the Free Spirit Connection who is frequently mentioned in the Free Spirits series as well as appearing as a character in Amalia's Truth.
Janella was born in Knoxville, Tennessee; her father was a Georgian immigrant and conservative Methodist minister, while her mother was an uninhibited artist. She pursued studies in comparative religion and sexuality, with her doctoral dissertation on the Medieval Brethren of the Free Spirit. She taught at the college and university level, and while at a conservative school that did not allow students to engage in sex, she allowed couples and even threesomes to use the guest room in her house. After a pivotal experience in the Appalachians, she began to put her own ideas about spirituality and ethics into a small book, The Way of the Free Spirit. As she shared her ideas with others, they began to form the nucleus of the Free Spirit community, with Janella as their leader. Over time, she stepped back into a more consultative role with the titles of Celebrant-at-Large and Steward Emerita.
In Amalia's Truth, she is serene and insightful with a keen sense of humor, yet tends to avoid being the center of attention, even doing behind-the-scenes work with meals and setup along with other volunteers at the Triennial Assembly. While she would prefer not to see the Connection divided into special-interest nexus groups, she is accepting of this evolution in the movement, even recognizing that having a larger number of such groups prevents any of them from having too much influence.
Like many other Free Spirits, Janella is polyamorous and (apparently) bisexual; she is part of a quad with another woman and two men, whom she first met on visiting the Louisville Local Gathering.
Category:Free Spirit Connection
Category:Characters
Category:Free Spirits