I wish we could give half-stars to books! :) This was a lovely little book, just not one that I felt super jazzed about by the time I finished it. For some reason, some of the anecdotes almost felt forced, and even some of the Bible quotes. It didn't always feel like an organic flow.

My favorite parts, however, were the parts about the false selves and later, how she met and dismantled those false selves.

I had hope in the book because of the author (Secret Life of Bees), but I really had to force myself to finish it. Lots of analogy about spiritual growth. Nothing very practical. Lots of boring poetry. Someone, of the analogistic, poetic, spiritual intellectual type, might love it.

I have read both The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair; the author of those novels wrote this spiritual work some twelve years before writing the novels, and I very much enjoyed both the novels and this nonfiction book.

The essence of this book is that a vital part of the spiritual transformation process is waiting; that one cannot always be doing, but that one must also wait on God and on His timetable. The author’s main metaphor is that of the transformation of the caterpillar into the butterfly; it is quite a leap of faith for a caterpillar to enter a chrysalis to become transformed.

This book also deals with midlife crises, and with the various kinds of traps that one can fall into. It is far easier to do rather than to wait, and in our day and age it is harder than ever to do nothing.

This little book about waiting is one that I may again read soon, as I fear that I may have read it far too quickly.

This book was a perfect match for my current needs. The author takes us on her two year spiritual journey, a journey that is so familiar to me. Because of my current relationship with Christianity, I had to strip out the Jesus and God references that are very prevalent, which was fine. It was worth the effort because I learned that she describes in Christian terms significant parts of the Vipassana journey that I am now on.

I loved her references to Bible passages and stories. I especially loved her references to books and authors that informed her journey - so many of those books are ones that I have read over the years on my journey. That was amazing.

At the moment I am reading everything I can find by Sue Monk Kidd. Love her writing style, her honesty and her spirituality.

Sue Monk Kidd learns many spiritual lessons by watching and being in sync with nature. The details are as crisp as her fiction. She adds family stories to enhance her journey. Excellent. Worth owning, since each chapter is like a fresh devotional.

This fall I re-read this wonderful book - it's even more powerful the second time. Sue Monk Kidd traces her journey through a mid-life crisis of spirituality using the caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis to tie it together. She is so transparent about her struggles. I highly recommend it!

A must read for every woman.

This book is full of very touching analogies, that have given added dimensions - (effective ways to apply our darkest times, into a healthy, new beginning)

"I said to my soul, be still, and wait.....
So the darkness shall be the light,
and the stillness the dancing."

"The shell must be cracked apart if what is in it is to come out, for if you want the kernel, you must break the shell.". Meister Eckhart


Psychiatrist Scott Peck says, "Pain won't kill you, but running from it might.". Here is one of the more valuable lessons I learned: avoiding pain, rather than having the discipline and courage to confront it and live it through, only compounds suffering in the long run. The escape hatches people create in attempts to avoid or numb pain can actually be worse than the experience of pain they sought to avoid in the first place."

"As long as we seek to escape from our various "hells" into freedom from pain, we remain irremediably ( impossible to remedy/correct) bound; we can emerge from the pains of hell in one way only -- by accepting another kind of suffering, the suffering which is purging."

The celebrated author, in this book, delves into her spiritual center, working to weave her tapestry of readings and instincts, into her Christian upbringing. There is much she begins to understand and relate, into a clear and accessible explanation of her search for clear answers in her own life.

I can definitely relate, as I also often find clarity coming out through my fingers as I write and think at the same time. There’s a mystery and majesty in letting words pour out of you - words you often see for the first time displayed on the page. Words that seem to have come from somewhere other than your own heart and mind.

In her exploration, Kidd relates much of her readings of Jung, Gibran, Campbell, Rilke, and myriad other writers who I have also read and absorbed over the years. There are some really deep and meaningful insights from each. But in the end, it feels she’s still holding back a bit in some of the fundamentalist trappings of the southern baptist thought. She may not have seen that, because she was likely raised in it. But it seemed as the narrative moved toward its conclusion, she held back on some of the more meaningful psychological depth explorations back into the safety of her roots.

I’d be curious to see where she went after writing this book. We’re all in a continually evolving learning experience during our lifetimes. I appreciate very much her raw, vulnerable words as she works to reconcile the many mysteries we uncover as we learn and grow.

Really loved this book--I would say 4.5 stars. It resonated with me to my very core. The only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars is that I felt like many parts of it were repetitive (perhaps that's fine because I needed it said over and over to get the point), but I felt like some of the more poignant part were overshadowed by the parts that weren't as necessary. But as a whole I would say it's been a long time since I read a book and related to so many of the passages. I kept underlining things and taking notes--and reading parts of it to my husband. It was as if Sue Monk Kidd was speaking directly to me and my life at many of the parts. She was able to articulate feelings that I didn't even realize I had. So good.

I am thankful for Sue Monk Kidd (a beautiful soul!) and the very personal and spiritual journey she shares with us in this book. It is for anyone I suppose, but better for those in or near midlife.
Though my journey has been different than hers and my perspective different in parts, I so appreciate her authenticity. And I gleaned so much from the metaphors, symbolism and analogies she shares, as well as the personal stories of growth and wonderings/wanderings.
“Not all who WONDER are lost.”

I listened to this really lovely SMK book. She is a hit and miss for me, but this was great. Just the right amount of scripture, psychology, and female writer experience from Sue. Chapter 3 was a great walk through of the princess fairytales and the Wiz Of Oz. How did they see their stories and find a way out of their predicaments?

I suggest listening to this book and walk with Sue each morning as you work through a big step in your spiritual growth.