Dressed for Dancing

In this debut memoir, a woman embraces a lifestyle she never imagined for herself and discovers the power of vulnerability and faith.

When Hill lost her beloved husband, Paul, to illness six months after their wedding day, her life came to a standstill. As an accomplished academic, her life didn’t lose all purpose, but her lack of faith and connection to God left her feeling like she had no way to move forward from the heartbreaking loss. As time passed after the funeral, she found herself unable to cope. She underwent a series of failed attempts to find answers; she visited a psychic reader, then went through periods of isolation and depression, finally ending up on a therapist’s couch. She eventually decided to take six months’ leave from work, and after receiving an invitation from her cousin, she embarked on a journey to Scotland, to a spiritual community called the Findhorn Foundation. Hill found that members of the community were all doing intense self-discovery work. Although she was apprehensive, she explored the community’s offerings, from body therapy to group sharing sessions to “Angel Meditation.” Hill eventually opened up to a group about her apprehensions and fears of intimacy and made an emotional connection. Soon she was able to return home and began to find closure regarding Paul’s death. But burying her husband’s ashes brought on a whole new wave of grief and pain, and Hill returned to the Findhorn Foundation the following summer. This time, she opened herself up to the foundation’s teachings and placed her trust in the community members and leaders. Through this process, Hill discovered a new relationship with God and human connection through song, dance and movement. She faced an important question: Could she live a new life of emotional honesty outside the Findhorn Foundation, without the support of the community’s leaders? The author weaves humor into her narrative, juxtaposing her grief with the sometimes-quirky personalities and events at the Findhorn Foundation. Each of the book’s chapters is tightly written, taking the reader on a rewarding journey through her healing process. Overall, Hill delivers a moving memoir of her transformation from skepticism to spirituality and from grief to joyful living.

An engaging story of an intercontinental spiritual journey.