The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark (Paperback)

by Sera J. Beak (Author) "So how the hell do you start igniting your divine spark?..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Red Book, Dalai Lama, Mary Magdalene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Beak, a religious scholar and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle Web site, sfgate.com, presents a brief but potent book focused on invigorating spirituality in the 20- or 30-something American woman. She vividly criticizes the patriarchal interpretation that has dominated most belief systems for centuries, and then quickly moves on to create her own feminist one. Beak encourages her female audience to do so as well, with their own "red book" modeled after hers, which was first given her as a birthday gift by her sister after their grandfather's death. Beak initially rejected the idea of keeping a journal, but soon found herself writing down prayers, recording dreams and in essence keeping a spiritual scrapbook. Avoiding the typical sentimentality, Beak's vision is a modern, femme fatale spirituality. The book lives up to its "unorthodox" subtitle, advocating that young women search for the spiritual in all things, even sex (memorably in a chapter called "Open Up and Say Ahh"). Beak calls herself a "spiritual cowgirl," taking her readers along for the ride. Her writing is probably too brazen for more conservative spiritual readers, but she displays poignant insights throughout. (June 16)
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Review
Beak, a religious scholar and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle Web site, sfgate.com, presents a brief but potent book focused on invigorating spirituality in the 20- or 30-something American woman. She vividly criticizes the patriarchal interpretation that has dominated most belief systems for centuries, and then quickly moves on to create her own feminist one. Beak encourages her female audience to do so as well, with their own "red book" modeled after hers, which was first given her as a birthday gift by her sister after their grandfather's death. Beak initially rejected the idea of keeping a journal, but soon found herself writing down prayers, recording dreams and in essence keeping a spiritual scrapbook. Avoiding the typical sentimentality, Beak's vision is a modern, femme fatale spirituality. The book lives up to its "unorthodox" subtitle, advocating that young women search for the spiritual in all things, even sex (memorably in a chapter called "Open Up and Say Ahh"). Beak calls herself a "spiritual cowgirl," taking her readers along for the ride. Her writing is probably too brazen for more conservative spiritual readers, but she displays poignant insights throughout. (June 16) (Publishers Weekly, February 27, 2006)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (June 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787980544
• ISBN-13: 978-0787980542
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A BLAST!!!!, August 14, 2006

By	Kathy Dannel Vitcak "YourSoulCoach.com" (Far northern MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Thanks, Sera, for writing this perfect book! Like one of the other reviewers I am a...bit...older than the target market, but I still loved it! At 50 I keep waiting to be grown-up and actually, I hope I DON'T! Yes, I firmly believe that our spirituality should be a FUN, VIBRANT, and ALIVE part of our lives and we should all laugh really, really hard every single day. LOVED the Dalai Lama story, I wish more people on this Earth could have a lighter approach to life. Hey, it should not be so hard and serious. If everyone just laughed a bit more and were kinder to each other...weell, problems solved.

Thanks again and for anyone debating over whether or not to buy this book...quit reading reviews and just buy it!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Awakening..., September 17, 2007

By	Robin L. Kelly (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not going to spend a lot of time reviewing this book because I want to get back to reading it! As many other reviewers, I don't fit the age range the author targets. I'm 45. I wish I had this book years ago as a resource, although I guess it was meant to be at this point in my life. Even if you're not religious, which I am not, this book is fabulous. Witty, insightful, encouraging and a fantastic resource. I looked into just one of her many recommendations (I plan to do much more) and wow. What a difference it's made. I actually think this book is better suited for a slightly more mature audience because maybe we are a bit more open minded than a younger generation. The author is clearly quite precocious which is why she speaks to women her age. Don't let that stop you from reading and rereading her wonderful book. Now, back to The Red Book!

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Title Says it All!!, June 21, 2006

By	Gail E. Peeler "Gail Peeler 'animial lover" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even though I am older than the target audience this book was written for, I found it to be wonderful. Never hurts to go back to the basics. I also learned a ton from this book. The information on ancient religions treatment of their goddess', and the history of Christianity was informative. It was fun to read how various religions, especially Christianity, evolved. I recently had to give a 45 minute lecture on meditation, and actually used parts from this book. As the author said herself, sometimes while trying to describe spirituality and things like meditation, the wording gets too woo-woo, and you can lose your reader and/or audience. This book was straight forward, fun to read, makes you laugh and teaches, all without condescending to the reader.

I am buying more copies to give to all the wonderful young women in my life. Additionally my older girl friends are also reading it with real interest.