Lori Erickson's Critical Reads

Lori Erickson is one of the country’s top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys. She has published more than a thousand articles in national and regional publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Better Homes & Gardens, and House Beautiful. Visit: http://lorierickson.net. Lori Erickson discusses Holy Rover: Journeys In Search Of Mystery, Miracles, and God, in conversation by Kit Bernardi, 9/30, 3pm at the Co-op.

The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred, by Philip Cousineau - An accessible and wise overview of pilgrimage, with many stories from diverse traditions

The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality, by Belden C. Lane - Reflections on how seekers in many traditions have been transformed by encounters with wilderness

Jesus: A Pilgrimage, by James Martin - A Jesuit priest brings readers along with him as he travels in the footsteps of Jesus, weaving personal narrative with Biblical scholarship.

The Pilgrim Journey: A History of Pilgrimage in the Western World, by James Harpur - An overview of sacred travel in the Western tradition

Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, by Kathleen Norris - A beautiful meditation on the power of place to shape us spiritually, told through the author’s experiences living in South Dakota

About Holy Rover: From her childhood on an Iowa farm, Lori Erickson grew up to travel the world as a writer specializing in holy sites--journeys that led her on an ever-deepening spiritual quest. In Holy Rover, she weaves her personal narrative with descriptions of a dozen pilgrimages. Her trips give Erickson the chance to reflect on her Lutheran upbringing, her flirtation with Wicca, and her admiration for Tibetan Buddhism. A trip to the healing shrine of Lourdes is intertwined with the story of her son's serious illness as a baby, while visiting Thoreau's Walden Pond blends with ruminations on being a writer. Along the way, Erickson encounters spiritual leaders who include the chief priest of the Icelandic pagan religion of Asatru, a Trappist monk at Thomas Merton's Gethsemani Abbey, and a Lakota retreat director at South Dakota's Bear Butte. Both irreverent and devout, Holy Rover includes images of holy sites around the world taken by several of the nation's leading travel photographers. Travel writer, Episcopal deacon, and author of the Holy Rover blog at Patheos, Erickson is an engaging guide for pilgrims eager to take a spiritual journey. Her book describes travels that changed her life and can change yours, too.