Customer Reviews

The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism and Miracles

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In The Desert Pilgrim, Iowan Mary Swander shares her journey from debilitating illness to physical and spiritual healing with the help of an Orthodox monk and an herbal healer in an Albuquerque barrio. Swander doesn't exaggerate the extent of her recovery or the power of her regained faith, yet there is no doubt she has been transformed by this experience and by the wisdom and generosity of Lu and Father Sergei. Swander's writing is clear and accessible, and her story is an inspiration.

Swander does some important legwork for everyone who has suffered chronic illness and/or pain and wondered why, why, why, and how can I be healed ?!
She describes her journey to New Mexico and her hopes for finding healing there, but she discovers so much more than healing. She shares with us the wisdom of a Catholic monk, a woman with a gift for prescribing herbal remedies, and mystics such as Hildegard of Bingen, St. John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and St. Francis. The book also touches on other topics such as the medical establishment, meditation, the history of women healers, and relevant episodes of the author's family life. This book is a wonderful treat stuffed full of inspirational messages, information and ideas that most of us can relate to.

this is a heartfelt, truthful work. mary swander is an inspiration and her writing is comforting and honest.

As a New Mexico resident and a lover of the desert, I had high hopes for this book when I plucked it off a shelf and bought it based on the description on back. Clearly the author's story is poignant and inspiring, but that really gets lost in barely mediocre writing. Swander grossly minimizes details related to New Mexico and its cultures, and she does the same with her descriptions of mystical figures and religion, and these sort of bald descriptions & generalizations really weaken the power of the story and her credibility as a writer. This propensity also makes the story feel unfocused and unguided. The book just doesn't read very authentically. I wish I had a different experience reading it, but I didn't.