The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism and Miracles

Read an Excerpt

The Desert Pilgrim
In this exquisite memoir, critically acclaimed writer Mary Swander recounts her extraordinary trek from suffering to emotional, physical, and spiritual recovery. After a car accident left her almost completely paralyzed and in chronic pain with no medical

Chapter 1: The Desert Pilgrim, Part 2
The year before my participation in Father Sergei's services, I'd awoken on an early February Saturday morning in Iowa, the temperature thirty-five degrees below zero and a howling wind driving snow against my windowpanes.

In this exquisite memoir, critically acclaimed writer Mary Swander recounts her extraordinary trek from suffering to emotional, physical, and spiritual recovery. After a car accident left her almost completely paralyzed and in chronic pain with no medical cure in sight, Swander-a lapsed Catholic, without any family to speak of-headed for New Mexico in search of the alternative medicine that the region is known for. Amid the stark beauty of the desert, she meets two unusual healers: Father Sergei, a Russian Orthodox monk who helps restore her faith, and Lu, a curandera, whose herbal remedies help restore her body. Using her own transcendent experiences, Swander weaves an investigation into the history of healing and such mystics as Teresa of Avila, St. Francis of Assisi, and Hildegard of Bingen. Beautifully written, The Desert Pilgrim shows readers how to restore their faith in the modern world-and how to believe in miracles again.

Mary Swander is an award-winning poet and essayist and the author of eight works of nonfiction. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, New Republic, and USA Today. A regular commentator on Iowa Public Radio, Swander teaches at Iowa State University..

	Home \| Forum \| Search
Health Parenting Personal Growth Relationships Religion & Spirituality Career & Money