Customer Reviews

Easter Everywhere: A Memoir

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was feeling very down when I picked up this memoir and reading it gave me some respite and new insight into what is often labelled depression--but what this author suggests might actual be spiritual longing. Without being zealous, Steinke wrestles on the page in very spare, moderate prose with her struggle to come to terms with her questions about spirituality, instilled in her as a child by her father, a Lutheran minister, with a need for a different kind of spirituality as an adult. I would love to read more by this writer about her ongoing attempts to find spirituality in her life.

Easter Everywhere is an unusual memoir---a beautifully-written exploration of the connections between faith and doubt. Especially at a time when zealots and fundamentalists have the loudest public voice on religion, it's a relief to read Steinke as she frankly probes her own belief, not with cliched pieties, but with a fierce search for God, with all the struggles and uneasiness that entails. The writing is so vivid and compelling, this book will move readers (especially perhaps those with spotty church histories, or no religious background at all) to consider their own faith or lack of it. Steinke's story is startling, poignant, and revelatory.

This was a beautifully-written memoir about growing up as a minister's daughter. The author paints a vivid picture of what it was like to move from place to place, live with a mother who suffered from depression, all the while searching for spiritual meaning in her life. It's very honest and frank, yet has a poetic quality to it. Whether you are a devout Christian or struggling with your faith, I think everyone will find something to relate to in this memoir.

Haiku is particularly potent and effective for its subtlety in capturing a fleeting image. The beauty of the language haunts not only because of what it suggests but also because of what it leaves to the imagination. "Easter Everywhere: a Memoir" is written with a haiku-esque flair for capturing pictures of Steinke's life, persona, and spiritual journey while only suggesting the depth behind some of these experiences. The flow of the narrative is sometimes disjointed and the reader must play a mental catch-up game to follow Steinke's narrative lead. Still I felt that I really understood Steinke's loneliness and alienation from the religious traditions that she grew up with. I found myself in sync with the poetic rhythms of the book; this is not a difficult book to read but there are sections that I read several times because I enjoyed Steinke's flair for language. This is an unusual memoir and one that I fully enjoyed because I've had similar experiences.

Steinke avoids the pitfalls in many a modern memoir. She deftly jumps from one stage of her life to the next, without the necessity of providing a continuous and detailed account. This leaves a spaciousness to the book, which gives it more weight than one might expect from a relatively short life story. Her writing style is delightful, with many a choice phrase. The threads through the book are her troubled parents and a longing for meaning in her life, one which she finds in a spiritual life that is anything but the neat and certain religion of so many believers. The later sections involving her explorations of religion are particularly compelling.

I was fortunate enough to meet Darcy at a reading done at the College of St.Rose in Albany, NY tonight. She also came and spoke to my English class. While all this is beside the point, I was privy to a closer glimpse of the person behind this engaging memoir and I was very much impressed. I was able to down this book in two sittings because it flows quickly and seamlessly throughout the narrative of her life. Her carefully constructed snippets of memories and scenes enables the reader to focus on the larger scope and purpose of her story--and that is her spirtual development. I was able to see those points in her life that truly defined and shaped her, through her eyes--and it helped me to better understand my own humanity and spirituality. A must read.

Exquisite prose, heartfelt storytelling and not a false note in the book. Steinke addresses issues that are too often ignored in our polarized culture.

If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be the preacher's daughter, read on - and then hope that this tale is not typical. The author's father was so absorbed by his efforts to serve God that he abdicated his duty to his wife and family, with predictably disastrous results. A sad, wise book and an absorbing read.

Although I can certainly see that Darcey Steinke is a skilled writer, I found this memoir a little hard to understand or follow. It's loosely about her spiritual journey through life, but I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly how that journey turned out, even after finishing the book. I found the writing most vivid when it was about her childhood memories, as there she mostly stayed in the concrete. After that, there were confusing jumps from age to age, and from man to man and city to city. The people we had met in the early pages, especially her mother, seemed little present. This is the kind of writing that infuses small moments with what is supposed to be huge meaning. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I think many readers would find this to be a wonderful memoir, but I am perhaps not as sophisticated as those readers, and like a more concrete telling of a life, with a more clear theme.

Darcey is the daughter of a preacher but her proximity to the church turns out to block her connection to the divine. For that reason the book reminded me of one of my favorite sermons of a previous pastor, who talked about how the church itself can sometimes be the biggest thing in the way of people seeking God. I found it interesting that Darcey's childhood memories seem clearer and less scattered than her descriptions of her more recent adult experiences. Perhaps she's just had more time to reflect on them. I liked the book even though I felt somewhat distant from Darcey: the struggles she describes and the obstacles she confronts are very particular and are more deeply ingrained than what I encountered in my own search for faith. Nonetheless, a thoughtful interesting book.