Customer Reviews

Searching for Your Soul: Writers of Many Faiths Share Their Personal Stories of Spiritual Discovery

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In her introduction, Katherine Kurs says "Attempting to live a spiritual life can indeed be a confusing and painful experience beset with obstacles and detours,rather than filled with the bliss we might have expected." As a spiritual novice, I can only concur with this comment, so it was with a great deal of joy, that I poured through these essays and pieces, written by some of the famous(and not so famous) writers and thinkers of our time. How fascinating it was to realize how these great writers realized their own spiritual journeys. Quite naturally, I identified with several of them. Lauren Slater's "Three Spheres" hit a little too close to home for me, as I understood her feelings perfectly. Other favorites included "Taking Martha With Me", by Beverly Coyle, where traditional Methodist theory, undergoes a radical change, during one service, and "The Generation of Faith" by Randall Balmer, where the author attempts to break away from his strict Christian Fundementalist upbringing and still remain faithful to God. However, I think I found my own enlightenment, when I read Sue Bender's "A Woman's Journey to the Amish" from her "Plain and Simple"...Oh would that I could find my Self in one of those Amish quilts, and my Soul in one of her Amish faceless dolls! Among the many writers and thinks, in this potpourri of wondrous discovery, I find myself drawn to this plain and simple tale of hope. This is a lovely book

This is a lovely collection of stories from spiritual seekers of many traditions and none. It reads beautifully as literature but also is a very practical resource that we can use to learn from the experience of others and in order to nourish us on our own journey.The essays are organized in such a way that we can use them to illuminate issues in our own lives and relationships. I am delighted to have found this book and am giving copies to all my friends.

This is a jewel of a book for anyone interested in the journeys that begin to bring each of us in our own way to some understanding of how Spirit works in our lives. The selections are by people who are delightfully honest in their pursuit to encapsulate in language how they came to see the hidden workings of the universe that speaks to their souls. I've read many spiritual autobiographies that run the gamut from Monks and Mystics in Ordinary Life to The Sanctified Body and I would recommend this book not only to people who are already "believers" but to all who like to hear true autobiography at its best. You won't be sorry you've read it.

This is my text for a spritual journey writing course taught in a men's medium security prison -- every class has rated it very highly.