"Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert" is a memoir. Following a series of recession-related miscalculations, it follows Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood, a spiritual counseling and healing team, from their original home in the beautiful New Age, ultra-progressive town of Santa Cruz, CA to the unspeakably plain eastern Arizona desert. The timing is immediately after the election of Barack Obama and the passage of Proposition 8 (the law repealing gay marriage in California) and they coincidentally and inadvertently find themselves in an ultra-conservative Republican Mormon community. The result is at turns poignant and funny and eventually leads to a spiritual wake-up call that shows the importance of connecting the
"Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert" is a memoir. Following a series of recession-related miscalculations, it follows Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood, a spiritual counseling and healing team, from their original home in the beautiful New Age, ultra-progressive town of Santa Cruz, CA to the unspeakably plain eastern Arizona desert. The timing is immediately after the election of Barack Obama and the passage of Proposition 8 (the law repealing gay marriage in California) and they coincidentally and inadvertently find themselves in an ultra-conservative Republican Mormon community. The result is at turns poignant and funny and eventually leads to a spiritual wake-up call that shows the importance of connecting the political and the personal in our task of developing spiritually on the planet.
This book might be described as Michael Moore meets Deepak Chopra if the story was told by a female blogger like Julie Powell (Julie, Julia). The book touches on issues millions of Americans have been going through—losing a job, a business, a home, facing bankruptcy. But it is also a story about choosing to live a creative, purpose-driven life, being guided by faith, and finding one's voice in a world that calls out for an end to polarity, injustice and hate. Ultimately, it is about community and reclaiming one’s connection to the greater whole.
A charming read! Wouldn’t it be great, I kept thinking as I read WAKING UP IN THE GREAT RECESSION MORMON DESERT, if everyone in the world accidentally found themselves living in the camp of the "other"– a Mormon on Castro Street in San Francisco, a Wall Street executive in a homeless shelter in Louisiana... Thanks, Sheryl, for giving us a glimpse of such an opportunity, for showing us how our deserts can "blossom as the rose.
David Spangler
This book is a winner. It has everything a good book should have: suspense, excitement, pathos, joy, laughter—-lots of laughter—and great characters you care about and can genuinely root for! And it's non-fiction! But what it has most is love and wisdom. Profound, heart-opening love and wisdom. It is hands down one of the best books on spirituality and its role in meeting the challenges of our time that I have read.
WAKING UP explores the trials and triumphs of living a creative, purpose driven life combined with an exploration of the political polarities present in current society. Skillfully written as both personal and political, the story of this couple's healing points to the resolution that just might help us all.
Larry Dossey
WAKING UP is a fascinating account of two seekers trying to find sense and sanity in our contemporary world, which often seems deliberately designed to make people crazy. The lessons they learn can help anyone find balance in our chaotic culture.
Product Details
BN ID: 2940013115323
Publisher: Healing Communication Press
Publication date: 8/15/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 226 KB
Meet the Author
Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood are a spiritual counseling and healing team currently living in Chico, CA. Sheryl is an artist and the author of three published books including "The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree", "The Spiritual Journey of Family Caregiving", and "Changing the World One Relationship at a Time". She is a Reiki master teacher, a Flower Essence Practitioner, has a Masters degree in Transpersonal Psychology and over 30 years of experience providing both conventional and spiritual counseling in a variety of settings. Paul is a published fiction and creative non-fiction short story author. He has been on a serious spiritual path most of his life, starting with a Kundalini awakening experience during meditation when he was only 13 years old. He is a Reiki master with degrees in Religious Studies, Behavioral Science and Creative Writing. He is also an accomplished photographer.
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Overview
"Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert" is a memoir. Following a series of recession-related miscalculations, it follows Sheryl Karas and Paul Hood, a spiritual counseling and healing team, from their original home in the beautiful New Age, ultra-progressive town of Santa Cruz, CA to the unspeakably plain eastern Arizona desert. The timing is immediately after the election of Barack Obama and the passage of Proposition 8 (the law repealing gay marriage in California) and they coincidentally and inadvertently find themselves in an ultra-conservative Republican Mormon community. The result is at turns poignant and funny and eventually leads to a spiritual wake-up call that shows the importance of connecting the