Sailing My Shoe to Timbuktu: A Woman's Adventurous Search for Family, Spirit, and Love

Novelist and Northwest native Joyce Thompson (Bones) offers an excellent spiritual memoir, blending the contemporary challenges of middle age into a profound mystical awakening through the Afro-Caribbean religion of Santeria. More than a memoir about finding a religion that works for her, Thompson speaks to a familiar American dilemma—how do we integrate an ancient, native spirituality into modern Western life? Like many contemporary seekers, she was drawn to a spirituality that offered a more loving, empowering and non-judgmental God along with meaningful rituals and teachings. "This theology assumes that you have an essential right to prosper, to be the best and most successful person you're inherently capable of becoming, to live in harmony with your fellows and with the earth itself," she explains. As she grows more devout in Santeria, she must learn how to incorporate her spiritual growth into daily living. In her case, Thompson is a divorced, single mother, caring for a disabled mother with Alzheimer's, while trying to pursue a romance with a newfound soul mate (and then attempting to integrate their children into this blessed out union). One of the basic tenets of this fascinating religion (which began as the traditional spirituality of the Yoruba people in West Africa and eventually expanded into the Caribbean through the slave trade) is to revere and respect one's ancestors. So on top of everything else, Thompson must also forge a more loving and respectful relationship with her ancestors. In doing so, she faces her family legacy—including the crippling alcoholism of her father (a widely respect judge) and the emotional coldness of her mother, who was once a stunning and accomplished lawyer. As we read this expertly rendered story about a woman's reckoning with her past and reawakening to her future, we feel privileged to enter into this fascinating religion and this tenderly beautiful life. --Gail Hudson.