Customer Reviews

In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women about Living a Spiritual Life

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm only halfway through this book and it has literally changed my experience of life during the past couple of days. I've read thousands of books but I can compare its impact to only a very few. The spiritual wisdom Wolff has elicited from the women she interviewed, plus her own beautiful, lucid, candid writing style, have deeply moved and heartened me.

Extraordinary. Exceptional. Brilliant. Real.

In her most insightful of ways, Margaret Wolff opens up the lives of some of the most amazing women in recent history. With an extremely sensitive touch, she offers the reader an incredible glimpse into what it means for anybody--you, me, or the "extraordinary" women found between the covers--to live a spirit-filled life.

As this precious book unfolds, it shows what is required of us to find the meaning we are all searching for...but, far from "preach-y" or "dogmatic" the wordplay in this book delights and dances as it reflects our storied lives; filled as they are with opportunities for exploration, experience, and communion. A must-read for everybody who wants to discover the power of simplicity...

Brilliantly crafted. Generous. And, filled with the simple revelations found in our everyday lives, Wolff lets us feel safe as we imagine what's really possible in our lives; warmed and comforted as we share time in her sweetest of company.

This book is not just for women. Not only did I received many insights and answers, but I also identified with some issues. The spiritual quest is indeed universal, and its essence neither masculine nor feminine.

There are many extraordinary aspects to this book. The first is that I felt like I was right in the company of these remarkable women as they talked about their lives. Much more than interviews, they are true conversations, and I felt I had been invited to sit in on them, able to see and hear on many levels the depth of what was being shared. Wolff is a master at what she does! Each one of the fourteen women came alive as she generously shared her spirituality with a groundedness that has no room for pretense. Their stories are not about dogma and doctrine; it is about their innermost lives--real and touching.
I was also captivated by the story behind the story: The author determined to write the book following a serious car accident which left her with profound, permanent brain damage, unable even to construct a sentence. By refusing to accept that fate, and working relentlessly to regain brain function, she ended up not only with an insightful book about others' lives, she recreated her own brain from the rubble, re-grooving and rewiring it to superb capacity.
Incidentally, it was a man who first told me about the book. I knew he did not have time for fluff, so I bought the book, and after reading it, bought four more copies to give to both men and women friends. It is an extraordinary treasure on many levels!
Catherine Light, Encinitas, CA

I read In Sweet Company as part of a summer reading group two years ago sponsored by a friend's church. There were usually 10-15 women plus the leader,a young female minister. We met in a coffee shop. As we progressed, reading two chapters a week, I realized that I was reading a life-changing book. The spiritual journeys of each woman were so different and so much the same. Age, religion, and ethnic backgrounds were really not the most important factors in their spiritual experiences.As we discussed the chapters each week we each found something important to use in our lives.In my case, it was the discussion of meditation labyrinths. Not all of the authors were well-known names to me, such as Olympa Dukakis and Sister Helen Prejean; however, each of the women has made a tremendous impact on those around them.I will reread this book at least once a year. The result of our reading group two summers ago was to invite author Margaret Wolff to our city for a women's retreat called "Embrace" that allowed women from all backgrounds,religions and races to learn more about spirituality. The retreat was a great success. We have talked about repeating it.I believe that Margaret has compiled interviews with women whose life experiences strike a chord with other women of all ages. She is an amazing woman herself.

Few of us have the chance to meet the great thinkers of our time, and even fewer the privilege to enjoy an intimate conversation with them. In Sweet Company, an uplifting new book by Margaret Wolff, affords the reader this rare opportunity through 14 interviews with extraordinary women who are living the spiritual life.
Of the 14 interviews presented in In Sweet Company, several stand out as being particularly inspired. Sister Helen Prejean, the noted opponent to the death penalty and author of Dead Men Walking, speaks eloquently on the sanctity of human life. Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch, a Seneca tribal elder, shares the esoteric teachings of her clan and her personal experience of the "Great Mystery" - the manifestation of Spirit in creation. Academy-award winner Olympia Dukakis tells of the struggles and triumphs of a life played out in the public eye, while Le Ly Hayslip, peace activist and author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, reveals a near Buddha-like wisdom when describing how she surmounted her personal challenges. And the words of Sri Daya Mata, president of Self-Realization Fellowship, the international religious society founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, are those of one transformed by the love of God.
One of the more appealing aspects of the book is the lively and intimate tone of the conversations, which makes readers feel as if they had joined a fireside chat between Ms. Wolff and these remarkable individuals. The author is a gifted interviewer, able to draw out the innermost thoughts of her subjects, and this, coupled with her astute observations and poetic prose, makes for a thoughtful and enjoyable read. Just as intriguing, the great diversity of these women's beliefs takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic tour of the spiritual life.
Interwoven into the narrative is the inspiring journey of the author, who prior to starting work on the book had suffered a devastating car accident that left her without 80% of her peripheral vision and other serious neurological problems. Throughout the narrative, Ms. Wolff skillfully weaves her own odyssey back to health into her conversations with the participants. Her candor and courage enrich the read and make it immediate and poignant.
Ms. Wolff observes that "a grassroots spiritual revolution" spearheaded by women is taking place, and the tone of her book certainly lends credence to such a statement. In the end, though, In Sweet Company takes the reader on that most important journey - into the heart of Spirit.


Doug Glener is a freelance writer living in Encinitas, CA., and is the author of Wisdom's Blossoms: Tales of the Saints of India (Shambhala, Nov, 2002).

If you are looking for the perfect gift for a woman in your life, you have found it!
What a gracious blessing this book and author are to our world.
Margaret Wolff is an Extraordinary Woman herself! I don't even recall how I first stumbled across her and her book "In Sweet Company". Before I even purchased the book, I read her newsletter and emailed her. To my delight she responded - more than once. I purchased the book, after the first chapter I purchased two more...this book just has to be shared! I think I've passed along at least 6 or 7 copies of this delightful treasure to my family and friends, and have 2 more on order.
I am grateful to Margaret for her book and her monthly newsletters. Someday I hope to met her in person and attend one of her presentations.
Enjoy ~ Michelle

The book is call "IN SWEET COMPANY" by Margaret Wolff. She talks to women about Spiritual Life and More. There were two things in this book that really touch me. The first one can be found on page 201 the talk was with Rabbi Laura Geller she said "Though I'm now happily married, I'm divorced from the father of my children. We share joint custody and work very cooperatively as co-parents but the children spend a lot of time with their father in his home, I missed out on the parts of their lives that occurred when they were with him. It's the one aspect of my life I feel sad about." Wow I thought to myself she hit what I feel with my own children. I am a single parent and every time my children go off with their father and his new family I feel that pain she talk about and this has help me to understand even more about myself. The second person who said something that touch me was on page 232-233 by Sri Daya Mata, "Men and women are meant to be helpmates, working together as divine friends, as companions, to help each other become more balanced within themselves. This is part of the divine purpose of marriage, of every relationship between man and women. Neither should try to control or dominate the other." Wow very powerful words. I am sure you will find this book very entertaining and more so do get your copy of "IN SWEET COMPANY" soon and find someones words that will touch you.

In Sweet Company is a thoughtful well-written book which will inspire any reader. It is a collection of interviews with 14 incredible women. My favorite is Sr. Helen Prejean's answer to "Is there a Golden Rule that guides you?" This book makes a wonderful gift to a friend as well as an annual read.

Margaret Wolf's interviews with these accomplished and insightful women about spiritual life demonstrate the many ways women have found both connections and comfort through their spritual journeys. Through mainstream religions, personal issues, cultural traditions and thoughtul meditations, these women share with Margaret their own pathways to spiritual places and to finding greater meaning in their lives. Inspirational, comforting, compelling, interesting, delightful and connecting, this is a book for anyone who is on his or her own journey. Margaret's gentle and respectful tone of writing and interviewing made me feel I was right there, listening to them talk to me. I highly recommend it!