Customer Reviews

If I Gave You God's Phone Number....: Searching for Spirituality in America

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Local Baltimore author Mare Cromwell offers up timely answers to many of my heartfelt, unspoken questions about life. Perhaps more so than ever before in our history, we're asking important questions and desire to strengthen our relationship with the creative force of life.

This book was a comfort to me recently during the anniversary of 9/11. I turned off my television and hungrily dug in. My appetite for understanding was well satisfied. The stories expressed by men, women, children, teens, older folks, a death row inmate, an agnostic, and people of many faiths, occupations, economic and educational backgrounds, reassured me that I am not alone in my longing.

Some of the interviewees have clearly struggled with their understanding of the Divine; I found the sincerity of their stories, their courage and the intensity of their questions equally enlightening, and I took a moment to appreciate my own hard-won sense of faith.

Ms. Cromwell's personal story charmed me from page one. She is funny and warm. On occasion, her words were tough for me to read. They reminded me of my own feelings of awkwardness and alienation as a child, and an early disillusionment with church going. Most of all, I saw my own life mirrored in her questions regarding romantic relationships and her commitment to her integrity. I am heartened by the strength and courage that clearly guides her well along her path.

Two interviews in particular captured my attention.

Abdullah, the Muslim Sufi and mystic speaks of the beauty of his faith and expresses sadness and frustration with those who distort Mohammad's vision by creating violence and terror in the world. Read this book if you're interested in receiving an education regarding the much underreported, positive side of this rich, ancient path to God. Abdullah's kindness, wisdom and grace brought me much hope and a sense of peace.

It is the Cherokee Medicine Woman Jasmine Hishaw's words in the final chapter that remain with me most strongly. This is the chapter that sold me on the book. Ms. Hishaw teaches about the structure of the Universe, organized religion, the New Age movement, human sexuality, the Creative Force as expressed through Divine Father and Earth Mother, and many other topics of interest to us today. You won't want to miss out on this one. Her words are filled with humbleness, humor and a wonderful wildness. Her message is so simple that I trust it.

This book will appeal to open minded human beings, truth seekers of all faiths, and individuals who hear the urgent call to help bridge our differences and work to bring in understanding and acceptance among all peoples of the world.

We need more positive books like this one - keep up the good work Ms. Cromwell. I look forward to your next one!

The plight of the homeless, beyond the obvious poverty, is gross disenfranchisement. They are cut off not only from the mainstream but from all other streams. They are deprived of any meaningful dialog because they have no voice in our society, but worse they also do not have society's ear. The same can be said for meaningful open discussions of individual beliefs. Crowded out by organized religions and individuals who tell you what to believe, there is seemingly no open earnest ear or forum for this important discourse. Even the bible, through my own limited review, reveals more asking and being directed rather than true dialog with god.

Mare Cromwell in her book has shown herself to be an open engaging individual whose interviews provide a warm comfortable place that allows for this essential dialog. Like the new friends in "The Summer of 42", who seal their growing friendship by revealing secrets about themselves, Mare earns the confidence of her interviewees and readers by revealing her own beliefs and concerns to us. Through the careful interjection of her own thoughts amongst the interviews, she has shown her path to an open dialog with nature, mankind and ultimately God. The lesson of her book is to keep your ears open, while seeking out and following your own path.

This book provides a glimpse into the diversity of the human interpretation of God and how it affects the lives of those who agreed to share their beliefs with the author. For me it was interesting to see the personality differences between people who believe God is outside of them vs. inside of them vs. non existent and how these beliefs play into their life experience.

Some people want to ask God for more favors and some simply want to thank God over and over for their lives and loved ones. Some want to give "God" a piece of their mind and some do not even want to bother with the question or the concept.

The Author does a wonderful job of interviewing. I felt almost as if I were hearing the conversation first hand which kept me interested to the point of wishing that the conversation would not have to come to an end. Her commentary on the interviews was like reading a diary which added another level of reality to the reading.

If you like to delve into the depths of the minds of many, you will enjoy reading this book.

I could not resist writing a review of this book in order to encourage others to read it. Mare Cromwell does a superb job of bringing poignant issues to light. I laughed, I cried and I totally embraced and identified with the interviewees insight and personal struggles that all of us confront. Thank you, Mare, for your candidness about your own path and for all the hard work it took to bring this work of art to fruition.

... a rare combination for a spiritual book. Ms. Cromwell chronicles the literal response to the question, "If I Gave You God's Phone Number" then adds her own non-judgmental views of her respondents' insights. These reflections of her own, along with her own letters to God and Earth Mother that she inserts throughout the book, give the reader a book-within-a-book as we watch her struggle and finally find her own personal phone number to God. Her selection of interview candidates are fascinating and across the board - children, a death-row murderer, a Muslim and an evangelical Christian to list just a few - all get equal time, respect and honor for their private revelations. This book would make a great gift to anyone searching for a private and personal connection to a higher power.

I just finished this book and think it is great. Motivated by a personal quest for a deeper understanding of the spiritual side of life, the author has conducted a series of interviews with ordinary people that shows the quest is present with most all of us.

I liked the book's organization into "interview" chapters, things that stood by themselves. I would find that I would read an interview at a time and then reflect on what I had read. I also liked the variety of interviews ranging from an eight-year-old girl to an eighty-year-old woman reflecting on her life to a convict on death row. I found myself pulled to these interviews in the same way that I was pulled to Neale Walsch's "Conversations with God". As different as the interviews were I was struck by a common theme through most of them - if God is real and good, how can He allow bad things to happen? The best answer to this came in the last interview with a Native American who brought a wisdom and clarity that reinforces my profound respect for indigenous cultures.

This book is obviously a work of passion by a woman where the result it self seems to represent the thing that motivated her to do it - to seek out and find a true connection with God.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's always been interesting to me how different people veiw their ability to communicate with God. I've found myself talking with my freind more about this subject and it's amazing the doors that it opens. Keep an open mind and dive in, this book is sure to give you some interesting new perspectives on religion.

"If I Gave You God's Phone Number....: Searching for Spirituality in America", a book by Mare Cromwell is a fast, easy read & I enjoyed it. In her book, Mare asks that if given God's number and you called him, what would you ask? Responses go from, "Why is the #1 grossing business, weaponry?" to "What's next weeks winning Lottery winning number?", (world view to personal view). But that's who we are, sometimes "big picture" sometimes "near sighted".

MML&J wrote about events long ago & far away. Scholars throughout the ages have written profound insights based on what they wrote. Mare has asked a simple question, (love it), and gives us a good selection of answers by people who live today. She makes one think about important things & of course, you ask the question of yourself.

I met Mare briefly. For her, spirituality is important, hence the topic she chose. What if she was to use the same format and using the Internet with follow up phone interviews, asking people living today relevant questions, could their answers cause me to reflect?. So, "If you were Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, what would you do first?", "If I gave you President Barack Obama's phone number and I could make sure he would take your call, what would you ask him?", "So what that Physicists have found a particle that goes faster than the speed of light?", "In the old days, things were intuitive, I could pretty much fix or make work anything on my bicycle. Today I can't even start a Prius without instruction. What other things today are too complicated and how do you deal with them?".

Mare, I gave you 4 of 5 stars because I would have liked shorter interviews that included the full content of their answer, so there could have been a larger set of answers, and, (I don't know how you could do this), as your were brutally honest about yourself, get those you interview to be equally, brutally honest. Good Luck & I hope there is another book in your future.

In this book, the author interviews people starting with the question in the title. The question amused me, but the interviews are serious (well, sometimes funny) and the author does an excellent job of following up with other questions that get to the core of the person's philosophy and concerns. What's striking about this book is the way people opened up to the author and shared their thoughts and beliefs. It says a lot about the author's openness and empathy. The range of people interviewed and the personal memoir wrapped around the interviews give depth to the book. Anyone who is curious about the state of spirituality in this country will find this book interesting.

I couldn't put this book down once I started to read. Her nonjudgmental stance toward religion in general is amazing (unlike with fundamentalists of religions such as Christians and Muslims), and she does a marvelous job of conveying what was said in the interview. She interviews a group of very diverse people whom it must have been a challenge to find and have them agree to interview about God. I admire her determination in finding the strength to interview these people and make a book about it. The interview that touched me the most was of the death row inmate who claims was unjustly convicted for a crime he didn't do and who believe God is being tough on him. I really don't know if he is making up his own story or if he really is innocent (only God knows the full truth...). Finally this book is infinitely better than the Christian scare tactics ones by Bill Wiese and Mary Baxter about hell (those I didn't appreciate at all).

I am definitely saving this book for future reference and going to read again in 6 months. Hopefully I will read it in half the time at that point. Anyway thank you Mrs. Cromwell for the wonderfully written book. Great job!