Chasing God: One Woman's Magnificent Journey to Spirit [Paperback]

Shirley Cunningham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

This book is filled with personal yet universal stories of wisdom and faith.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...authentic personal story of a woman turning tragedy into blessings...deeply moving...heart opening...inspires us all." -- Doreen Virtue, Ph.D, author of MESSAGES FROM YOUR ANGELS

"...insightful...profoundly spiritual...memorable journey of opening one's soul to the Divine...recommended reading for students of spirituality." -- Midwest Book Review, September 2002

"...insights into gifts inherent in disease...highly recommended to women who, like Shirley and me, have survived breast cancer." -- Sue Ann Thompson, President, Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation, former 1st Lady of Wisconsin, wife of Tommy Thompson, Director of US Dept of Health and Human Services

"...readers will learn something about themselves through the stories presented here." -- Kenosis Newsletter, August 2002

About the Author

Shirley Cunningham was born in Wisconsin and has been a high school English and Journalism teacher, a college and university lecturer, as well as a social service administrator. Currently, she is a spiritual director and counselor in private practice. Shirley has long been on her own spiritual quest and assists others through her workshops and retreats.

With two degrees in English, one from Viterbo College, LaCrosse, Wis. which she earned magna cum laude, the other from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, Shirley also has a Masters of Social Work from Arizona State University. She trained as a spiritual director at the Shalem Institute, Washington, DC and has been a long-time student of spirituality, psychology, journaling, dreams, intuition, imagery, and creativity and their interconnections. She has kept journals and written poetry from childhood. CHASING GOD is her first book. Shirley lives in Scottsdale, Azizona, is married and has one son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 313 pages
• Publisher: Amoranita Publishing Co. (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972057102
• ISBN-13: 978-0972057103
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A memorable journey of opening one's soul to the Divine, September 14, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing God: One Woman's Magnificent Journey to Spirit (Paperback)

Chasing God is the profoundly insightful story of Shirley Cunningham, who grew up Catholic as a young girl, spent time in a convent, married, became a mother, divorced, and battled with breast cancer. Shirley's quest to understand the love and gentleness of a God far greater than any institution created around him, makes for a profoundly spiritual tale, embellished with her accounts of dreams, encounters with angels, and revealing a memorable journey of opening one's soul to the Divine. Chasing God is recommended reading for students of spirituality and a recommended addition to Christian Studies supplemental reading lists.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Warm Read that Challenges and Nurtures, November 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Chasing God: One Woman's Magnificent Journey to Spirit (Paperback)

If you are looking for a book that shows the tensions between the real and the "expected," between the inner and the outer, between "chasing God" and "being chased" by God and then resolves those tensions by giving a spiritual vision of wholeness that embraces the paradoxes, then this book is for you. That is not to suggest that Chasing God is a metaphysical or philosophically dense treatise on life. The way the author writes about her relationships with family and friends; about the birth of her son; about the growing romance with her second husband ring so true that the reader experiences the relationship as well. Chasing God is a journey through one woman's life. It is a book written with clarity and beauty.

Cunningham is particularly strong when she describes places. The reader is with her in her high school in Wisconsin, with her in the convent, with her in Spain, with her as she races to a doctor with her new friend Jerry who is suddenly and unexpectedly ill. Cunningham's reflections on being ill, herself, with cancer and her subsequent change in feeling about folks who are not fully well are worth the price of the book.

Likewise, this book is for those who are, at heart, artists
and for whom the daily responsibilities of life have squeezed the artist thin. Cunningham, through her own experience, challenges the reader to nurture the creative within and shows the connections between creativity, spirituality, and healing.

For many of us used to looking for reality "outside," the author of this book asserts not only that the really real is out there, but that the "real thing comes from inside" as well and challenges us to listen.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chasing God - Shirley Cunningham, November 5, 2002

By 

Patricia Longoni (Chandler, AZ (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing God: One Woman's Magnificent Journey to Spirit (Paperback)

This is a powerful book for those that want to understand more about their spirituality. We focus a lot on understanding religion but we do not take enough time to understand our relationship with God. Chasing God opens up a whole new understanding about God and God's love, reaching out toward us. We often hear the phrase, if you want to change the world change yourself...well this book is a step in the right direction. I read the book in one day, I could not put it down.