Today, I am doing a book
review of ‘A Soul’s Calling’ it’s a part travelogue, part hiking adventure about a man who listened to his heart instead of listening to reason.
Scott Bishop is a forty something attorney in America, average in every way,
except in one way, he can communicate with Spirits.
In one of his communications with
the spirits, Scott learns that his soul has been spiritually compromised. To
win his soul back he has to undertake a journey to the ancient kingdom of
Nepal, to the Mount Everest Base Camp. Armed with an assortment of objects to
offer to the sacred mountains, and prayers from the Luminous Beings, he travels
to Nepal.
As the journey unfolds, readers
are transported to the hilly terrain of the Khumbu Valley, where the mountains
come to life, where nature holds all kinds of secrets in its womb. On one hand
we see the mountains as physical objects that Scott has to overcome, on the
other hand these mountains are also symbolic of the many non-physical obstacles
and battles he has fight against.
With a guide and a porter, Scott
treks to the base camp to offer his prayers. He travels from one mountain to
another, halts at several mountain lodges, overcomes his fear of heights, gets his body
acclimatized to breathing at higher altitudes and climbs endless stairs, before
he sees the majestic Mount Everest.
For most of us who can only dream
of travelling to the Everest base camp, the book works in many ways. It
prepares us as well as gives us the glimpse of what obstacles we will
face when we leave the cosy comforts of our houses to brave the thin mountain
air, the spartan food and life in guest houses.
I am not sure whether I would
like to call this book one man’s pilgrimage or a sacred journey. It’s both. When
I picked up the book, the thought running inside my mind was that this would be
a spiritual book. It’s much more than that. The book not just makes us ask
ourselves several questions, it also makes us search for the answers within our
own hearts. And when the answers are revealed to us, they can take our breath
away.
Scott’s Website
A Soul’s Calling is available on
Amazon
Going to Everest when you have a fear of heights would seem a doubly daunting feat. Sounds like an interesting read.
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Moody Writing
The review was very enticing and am tempted to read this Rachna:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful message. The voice of reason versus the voice of the heart. Life is about this. We are always trying to keep both content.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fascinating. I love books that make me think about my own inner journey and what it means to be a citizen of our world. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. Looking forward to reading the Book.
ReplyDeleteNot many would be willing to do that journey either.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it's not a book I would typically pick up, it sounds wonderful. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI love books that take me on a spiritual journey. This sounds like one of those. Thanks for sharing, Rachna!
ReplyDeleteYour review reminded me of a book I read: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma. It's a spiritual fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny. I don't know if you've heard of it?
ReplyDeleteWonderful review. I have to be in a special mood with time to ponder when I read books like this one.
ReplyDeleteNow that does make me interested to read it.
ReplyDeleteI read Sky Burial which also seemed part travelogue, part spiritual journey and enjoyed that.
This sounds like an amazing story. I'm not curious to mountain climb myself, but I can imagine it's a spiritual journey. I feel things in both heart and mind when I see the wonders of nature.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachna! I loved reading your review and am so glad that you enjoyed my book.
ReplyDeleteIf there is enough interest among your blog audience, I'd be happy to open myself up for a "virtual" visit with them and answer questions they might have after reading my book. A Q&A session at a meeting of the Scriptorium's Book Group.
I do want to say that I never set out to write a book that readers would place in the spiritual genre. First and foremost, I consider "A Soul's Calling" as a travelogue and hiking adventure. That it has a spiritual element woven through the narrative just happened. It was very natural for it to come out and I think the book is better for it. It adds a special dimension. Otherwise, the narrative would tell a story of a guy who hiked to Mt. Everest Base Camp and back.
I think it helps readers to understand going into the book several things. The main character is a shaman. Shamans place no distinction between the physical world and the energetic (the World of Spirit)--they are one and the same. Also, I hope, that when readers come to the end of the book they understand that it's not the author's soul's calling they have been reading about; that they are reading about their own soul's calling and one other (whom I won't disclose as that would be a huge spoiler).
Thank you so much for a remarkable review.
Scott
This sounds like an incredible story that I would love to lose myself in one day very soon. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteGood Review, Rachna, This sounds like a lovely book. I love stories full of mystery and spirituality, and books that make you think and look within. This sounds like it has all of these things. I'll go check out his site.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have time, check out my new site: Victorian Scribbles.
PS: Remembering your last post, I'm glad you got your writing groove back. How is the teaching going?
It's good to get out of our comfort zone once in a while. Good thing we don't all have to visit Everest to do that ;)
ReplyDeleteSounds like an inspiring story, very cool:)
ReplyDeleteHi Friends, yes Scott's book does inspire one to follow one's heart and also search for the answers to questions that have been troubling us. And the amazing thing is we don't have to go far for the answers, they are within us.
ReplyDeleteVery good synopsis and review of this book. It seems very involved and to have many themes. Spirits, mountaining, endurance, searching for self, saving the soul. Pretty deep.
ReplyDeleteHi, again, Rachna, just a note to thank you for stopping by my new blog and commenting.
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