Summary

"A daughter dies, a husband is murdered, a son commits suicide, a brother is diagnosed with terminal cancer.....When tragedy crashes into life, we may be buoyed by the love of family and friends, but we will never truly heal until we make peace with the crisis, relinquishing its stranglehold on our capacity to move forward. For many, this is a journey of faith, an opportunity to forge a new, perhaps deeper relationship with Spirit. Here are the true life journeys of 14 women of vastly different religious and spiritual traditions, and how they came to weather their personal storm. No two are alike, yet they all share a path of healing, of stepping slowly back into wholeness and joy after suffering nearly unimaginable loss."

Quotes

"Spiritually, I try to live the principles of ACIM (A Course in Miracles) which means that most days I am asking for new eyes, a new way to look at a situation. I wear Buddha beads that I finger like a rosary, reminding me to stay in the present, in the moment and to accept who or what is, just as it is."

"My advise to others is exactly the same: To realize what is, is. Take what is and heal from that place. Don't argue with it. Of course, I prefer some outcomes over others, but I have learned to accept and live with 'what is' even though some days, some events are really, really hard. It's a realization that comes with spiritual and emotional maturity. No matter how harsh the reality, you have to decide to heal. And, even if you try and fail, be willing to try again and again."

General Themes

As a part of her seminary training Wolf was assigned the task of "adopting" a different religion for a month at a time. "Less concerned with what these religions 'believed' she were asked to 'experience them.' "What spiritual practices did they offer and how did these practices or rituals help us be more present in our own experience of our own spirituality, our own experience of God (the God of our own understanding)?" In writing Life Raft, Wolf used these same themes in telling the stories of fourteen women of all different faiths who had suffered profound losses. She looked for "What worked best" in "the place where religion intersected one's personal spiritual connection, no matter the belief system."

What the Reviewer Liked

As a Kara counselor, I gained insight from these fourteen women's stories as to how women from a variety of religious traditions relied on their faith to heal from many types of devastating losses. These women fit the profile of a Kara client, and I would definitely refer to the book if I have a client who turns to her faith as a part of her grieving process.

I particularly related to the thoughts of the women from less traditional Western spiritual philosophies, such as A Course In Miracles, Buddhism, and Wicca, which emphasize the present moment, and the connected, transitory nature of all creation.

Shortcomings or Flaws

These are quibbles: The book had several typos, as well as sentence fragments. I personally dislike the phrase "being there" for someone, which pops up in many of the stories. But what is lost in language precision is gained by knowing these are the voices of real people telling their true stories of healing with hope and faith. Since some of the stories were told in the first person, it was unclear to me whether all the stories were written by Wolf or whether some of them were written by the participant.

Writing Style

The book is written in a plainspoken, almost conversational style. The story format adds to it accessibility.

Author Qualifications

Judy Wolf, an ordained Interfaith Minister, lost her own 16-year-old son, Joe, then embarked on a quest to discover, how does one heal the heart and soul after this? Does faith matter?"

Contact Us

457 Kingsley Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-321-5272

Office hours are M-F, 9AM to 4PM Pacific time.
Here is a map to our office.

Kara is the Gothic root of the word "care."
It means to reach out, to care, to lament, to grieve with.