The Age of Miracles by Marianne Williamson

I'm a habitual Self Help reader. Whenever I have a crisis, big or small, I turn to gurus who have written books. I love Gary Zukav for his words about aligning your intention with your choices as a way of achieving authentic living. and I love Deepak Chopra for giving us the substance of mysterious things like death and the secrets of life.

I hadn't delved into anything to do with A Course in Miracles, but now in my MLC I was ready for anything that might help.

MaryAnne Williamson is a spiritual teacher that springs out of the fountain of ACIM and teaches about love. Her latest book, The Age of Miracles, is about the challenges of midlife to your spirit.

I haven't had a book resonate like this before. It catches me in my gray and mournful state of mind and sits there with me, keeping company and showing me that allowing the grief in is the way to process it. She says that there are priceless insights we can gain only by losing the frantic search for beauty and hotness that was our youth.

I must agree with her: Since I've allowed myself to experience my midlife crisis as a grieving process, I've started to crave purpose in every day. I used to thing another great thing would come along if I messed around. Now I know there isn't another great thing to come along--this is life. Ms. Williamson says the same thing. It feels so affirming to read it.

She gives spiritual insight. For a good workbook on what to do now if you don't know where to go, I recommend a book called Second Acts by Stephen Pollan. But it feels really good to have someone tell you others have seen this place too.

CRITICISMS:

She is clearly sure that the 2000 election was stolen, that the world is dying and that the war in Iraq is over control of oil, nothing more. I had to shake my head and realize that she sees herself as fighting a battle for the nation's soul, and I have to give her that, but I disagree about the liberal politics.