Kathleen Davies
During my first job as an English professor, I often walked my dog in the beautiful local cemetery. I was under a lot of pressure, so I found it comforting to walk there. During one walk, I was pondering how much I had sacrificed for my career when I had an a-ha moment: My life is a cemetery! This was the thought that inspired me to write Sacred Groves. After I was denied tenure a few months later, I became obsessed with cemeteries. This led me to recover something far more precious than worldly success, which is why I say that cemeteries “saved my soul.”
With an unequivocally strange but beautiful mind, her style is comparable to that of Tim Burton. She has an appreciation for the dark side that most are afraid to dabble in, fearful of being judged. But whenever she found herself tried, she always found the Universe speaking to her, reconnecting herself to her spirituality in odd, almost humorous ways. This fascinating read will find a very special place in one's life to teach them that self-acceptance will manifest into abundance, much like Davies experienced.
~ Mickey Bratton, Glassworks Literary Magazine
"Kathleen Davies' Sacred Groves is a singular odyssey,
a spiritual journey that takes you through the maddening halls of academia and into the surprisingly healing graveyards of Ohio. With elegant prose, Davies crafts a beautiful memoir about diving into pain and coming out whole." ~ Marcy Dermansky, author of The Red Car and Very Nice
"Kathleen Davies turns a disappointing life event into a [spiritual] journey . . . An intriguing book by a creative writer and artist.” ~ Maureen Murdock, author of The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness
"While experiencing 'death' in academia, Kathleen Davies finds herself inexplicably drawn to Victorian cemeteries. There she discovers the beauty of nature, images of female power, words that touch her heart, and at last...herself. Her story of descent and return will open a way for others." ~ Carol P. Christ, author of Goddess and God in the World and A Serpentine Path
“In search of angels, Kathleen Davies describes her evolution from the contempt she experienced in the secular groves of academe to the exultation she found in the sacred groves of a cemetery. We need voices like hers to assess the current state of the humanities. Even though I don’t remember making graduate students cry, I am proud to be a character in her book.” ~ Susan Gubar, author most recently of Late-Life Love
Sacred Groves is a book for anyone who has ever failed to prove themselves. It is a story of resilience, healing, and salvation and a celebration of the power of landscape to lift our spirits higher.