In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women about Living a Spiritual Life

by Margaret Wolff

Overview

In Sweet Company takes readers on a spiritual odyssey into the hearts and minds of some of the most influential women of our time —Olympia Dukakis, Sister Helen Prejean, Riane Eisler, Zainab Salbi, Margaret Wheatley, Katherine Dunham, Reverend Lauren Artress, Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch, Sri Daya Mata, Rabbi Laura Geller, Le Ly Hayslip, Miriam Polster, Alma Flor Ada, and Gail Williamson. For all these women, their spiritual life nourishes them and serves as a dependable compass for decision making. Written with warmth and wisdom, In Sweet Company tells their stories, their personal journeys, and relates their thoughts on living a spiritual life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787983383
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/17/2006
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.55(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

The Author

Margaret Wolff is a writer, speaker, and consultant whose work celebrates women's growth and development.

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Table of Contents

Preface.

Introduction.

One: Sister Helen Prejean.

Two: Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch.

Three: Miriam Polster.

Four: Alma Flor Ada.

Five: Reverend Lauren Artress.

Six: Olympia Dukakis.

Seven: Riane Eisler.

Eight: Le Ly Hayslip.

Nine: Zainab Salbi.

Ten: Katherine Dunham.

Eleven: Margaret J. Wheatley.

Twelve: Rabbi Laura Geller.

Thirteen: Gail Williamson.

Fourteen: Sri Daya Mata.

Epilogue.

Acknowledgments.

Permissions.

About the Author.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In Sweet Company provides readers with a bird’s eye view of the inner lives of fourteen very different women whose practical wisdom and generous hearts inspire us to deepen our own spiritual connection. Their lives are their message to us all, a message we need to hear: connect with the Divine, anchor our actions in spiritual principles, serve the greater good."
—Laurie Beth Jones, author, Jesus, CEO

"This is an invaluable resource that harnesses the wisdom, beauty, creativity,  and resourcefulness found in women who are committed to make a difference. This book is inspirational and filled with creative possibilities to manifest a better world for our children and grandchildren, exemplified by the way these extraordinary women have led their lives."
—Angeles Arrien, cultural anthropologist; author, The Four-Fold Way and The Second Half of Life

"Inquiring conversations with 14 women whose lives and work are energized and given meaning by their personal connection with spiritual wellsprings."
—Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author, Goddesses in Everywoman and Urgent Message from Mother

Editorial Reviews

Into this series of extended conversations with women representing different facets of contemporary American spirituality, journalist and teacher Wolff threads another story: her own struggle for order and meaning after a car accident impaired many of her cognitive abilities. The eclectic group of 14 women she profiles includes prominent religious figures like Sri Daya Mata, an American who became a monastic disciple of the Indian-born Kriya yoga practitioner Paramahansa Yogananda and then the third president of the Self-Realization Fellowship. There are also less typical figures, like management guru Margaret J. Wheatley and the late Gestalt psychotherapist Miriam Polster. Even those who represent Judeo-Christian traditions, like Episcopal priest/psychotherapist/ labyrinth devotee Lauren Artress, bring an unconventional perspective that will appeal to readers who prefer their spiritual practice to push the margins. Each chapter begins with a biographical sketch and concludes with helpful references for those who want to know more. Appetizing as this quintessentially American smorgasbord of spiritual lives is, there is something distracting about the author's "gee-whiz" style that lessens the book's impact. Readers who aren't bothered by that self-conscious tic or by Wolff's own rather intrusive role in the interviews may be inspired and enlightened by these conversational profiles. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly