SHE JOURNEYS

May offers an introspective memoir of her spiritual development.

Sarah knew Nick in high school in the California Sierras and she fell in love with him at age 19. Theirs was a long-distance romance: She was in college in California; he enlisted in the military and was stationed on the East Coast. After college, Sarah left California to be with Nick, and they married when she was 21. A few years later, their marriage ended in betrayal and violence, complicated by Nick’s serious injury in a helicopter crash after returning from an overseas deployment. Depressed and demoralized, Sarah returned to California. The cross-country trip, including reunions with family members and solo backpacking in national parks along the way, began a decade-long journey of healing. Living with her parents on a houseboat in Newport Beach provided a safe space to begin again. Finding renewed spirituality, faith, and strength through yoga, she attained certification as a yoga instructor. During a four-year relationship in San Diego, a class in psychic intuition led to the realization that she needed “More from [her] partner, more from life, and most of all, more from [her]self.” Therapy, exploration of transgenerational trauma, transformational breath work, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, plant medicine, and Reiki were among the methods she explored that resulted in a healthy relationship with her body and spirit and a loving, satisfying relationship with her partner, Andrew. May’s limpid writing unflinchingly recounts the crumbling relationship between her and Nick that propelled her on this journey. Acknowledging that Nick was responsible for his actions, she honestly confronts the question of why she put up with his behavior. The author’s rejection of victimhood is admirable, and her description of the hard work it takes to “heal from the inside out” will be inspirational to anyone hoping to do the same. The book’s tone is lightened by humorous asides about her enthusiasm for alternative therapies (“I burn so much sage, I set off smoke alarms”).

A likeable and inspiring chronicle of self-actualization.