Description:
"Pilgrimage is not just about leaving ordinary life," writes author Sarah York in Pilgrim Heart: The Inner Journey Home. "It is much more, a process that involves stages of moving from ordinary space in sacred space and then back into ordinary space, from structure to non-structure then back to structure." Herein lies the strength of York's book, which doesn't simply exalt the transformative highlights of a pilgrim journey. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of conscious leave-taking and integration upon return--showing how they equal, if not exceed, the significance of the insights gleaned while on the journey. In the opening chapters, York shows readers how to recognize the stirrings for a pilgrimage, which, ironically, are often spurred by a search for a true home. She then gives examples of different kinds of pilgrimages, including stories of her own, to demonstrate the common threads. Whatever the destination, York advises pilgrims to seek the wilderness, "whether we enter the wilderness of our hearts and minds, a wilderness in the world's dark mysteries, or the majestic wilderness of nature." It is after all, "the place where we meet ourselves," according to York. "The irony is that we meet our familiar self in the unfamiliar." Her strongest suit is guiding readers through the re-entry--a tough and sometimes shocking phase of pilgrimage. Without scooping her closure, suffice it to say that she teaches the art of spiritual self-reliance; finding the home within the self instead of lamenting the physical home one returns to. Readers may find York's whimsical writing style too tangential for their liking. This is not a pat, how-to book. Expect a woman's thought-provoking musings on a theme, within a loosely bound narrative. --Gail Hudson
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