Review by Booklist Review
Travel writer Erickson's journey across America in search of 11 spiritual sites could also be called a pilgrimage. Each site represents something elemental, from the traditional four--earth, water, fire, air--to seven of Erickson's own: stone, animals, trees, caves, mounds, lights, and astronomy. The personal essays inspired by these elements bring history, background, and context to the author's examinations. She begins her journey with earth, in New Mexico's El Santuario de Chimayo--"America's Lourdes"--where dirt, not water, is sacred, promising miraculous healing. As for water, she finds it in the hot springs of Oregon, which evoke the rite of baptism. Air is represented by the staggering migration each year of some 600,000 sandhill cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska, birds that Erickson likens to angels. In sum, Erickson, who is always good company, contends that humans are designed to move, and her highly readable, thought-provoking pilgrimage is proof positive of that elemental fact. The peripatetic will rejoice.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Travel writer Erickson has written a travelogue about areas of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, that have sacred and spiritual meaning to people now and throughout history. The author's journeys, taken with her husband and mostly via camper during the start of the COVID lockdown, focus on the transformative power of land, air, water, landmarks, and animal migrations and roundups. They visited such sites as the Mounds of Ohio, archaeological wonders that are burial grounds of the Indigenous Adena and Hopewell peoples, and they witnessed Nebraska's Sandhill Crane migration that takes place every year from mid- or late February to mid-April. Most of the 11 sites they visited are prefaced with one black-and-white photograph, just as the author did in her previous book, The Soul of the Family Tree. Erickson compares each locale to other sacred lands and surrounding beliefs held around the world. The book's research incorporates comprehensive details about the history, geography, and interpretations of each area's spiritual meaning and significance rooted in nature. VERDICT Ideal for fans of Erickson's work, curious readers, armchair travelers, and those who are compelled to take a spiritual pilgrimage.--Charlyn Lyons
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