I have to be honest I didn't finish this book... I got about half way through... not my usual pattern with books but this book wasn't telling me anything I didn't know.. it would be great for someone who hasn't learned of or heard of this information... her journey to the "sacred feminine" was fantastic for her but couldn't hold my attention.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to JDT...

Like Christmas in my mailbox today!

When I read Secret Life of Bees and Mermaid Chair, I knew Sue Monk Kidd must have experienced some expanding life and spirit-affecting years since her uplifting, inspiring little articles in Guideposts magazine!
Looking forward to learning more about her journey.

Thanks so much for the trade, wolfbutterfly!

Uh - that anonymous finder is actually me, JDT. Forgot to log in!
Thanks again, wolfbutterfly!

Once I started reading this one, I couldn't put it down. I agree that not everyone has such an intense personal and wrenching spiritual journey.

While it's not my spiritual experience - Sue Monk Kidd's honest account of her sometimes scary/sometimes exhilerating, risky, painful, liberating, anguished/authentic spiritual journey gripped my attention.

The fact she's emerged both more down-to-earth, more creative, more in tune with nature and people attests to the rightness for her of her path.

I'm also impressed/relieved that her marriage not only survived but was re-created as well. Many women I know personally and through their writings seem to come to more awareness of the sacred feminine during or after troubled relationships. I give her husband Sandy as well as Sue a lot of credit.

Now that I've read them both, amazing how much the important themes, images in her novel The Mermaid Chair (and actually Secret Life of Bees) evolved from this personal experience.

Sending on to BC friend KimKerry sometime soon.

Thank you so much for this RABCK, JDT! I may take this with me to Maui in November/December...and release it there when I finish it.

Though I could not personally identify with most of Sue Monk Kidd's journey, I was drawn into her discoveries, struggles, fears and joys. The writing is excellent.

I see now that so much of her spiritual awakening/emergence is evident in the her characters in the Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair. I'm actually glad I read this book AFTER reading the two novels. I also found it interesting that toward the end of her book, Monk Kidd quotes a piece of Maya Angelou's poem, "And I Shall Rise". An admirer of Angelou's novels and poetry, I definite similarities in the two authors' work, a similarity that goes beyond the obvious issues of female strength, determination, dignity, and transformation of consciousness.

Thank you, JDT, for sharing this with me. I'll now see if anyone has this book on their wishlist.

Mailed to Chryso on March 13. The book was on her wishlist. Enjoy!

(USPS delivery confirmation # 03052710000268818351) Shows delivered on March 15.

Thank you for the RABCK, KimKerry! I'm looking forward to reading this, soon as I get through a few have-to-read-now books at the top of Mt. TBR. ;)

For being such a personal story, it seems to stop just short of personal. The author too often abandons her personal narrative for a more didactic or research-based approach, or for generalities that become repetitive before long. My complaints aside, I really enjoyed this book. For me, the strength of this book is not in new information but in the recognition that I find therein. The last section of the book, entitled "Empowerment," is my favorite, although my favorite sentence (I don't always have one) appears earlier, on page 83: "When you can't go forward and you can't go backward and you can't stay where you are without killing off what is deep and vital in yourself, you are on the edge of creation."

I will eventually release this book, but not yet. I'm still referring back to it, taking notes. Thanks again, KimKerry!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Found this on crimson-tide's Wish List, so it's off to Australia tomorrow morning. Enjoy, crimson-tide!

Arrived safely 'down under' today. Thanks very much for this RABCK, Chryso. I'll look forward to reading it, and then will definitely pass it on again.