Covering a wide array of emotions and states of being—disorientation, panic, loneliness, yearning, anger, determination, surrender and emergence—Goldstein (Gonzo Judaism
), founding rabbi of the New Shul in New York City, above all simply reminds readers that we are human. In his easygoing style, he uses an engaging mix of Bible tales, congregants' stories and personal anecdotes, as well as cultural references, to illustrate a sort of eight-step program for opening oneself spiritually. Some are extreme examples of life's pain—homelessness, suicide, terrorist bombings—and others all too common encounters with job loss, cancer and death. Each story is tempered with a corresponding example of hope, a reason to carry on. Goldstein comes across as neither smug nor cavalier, nor does he consider this a self-help book. Rather, he seeks to address not personal loss so much as “the phenomenon of being lost, of becoming a wanderer, a soul unable to find its way.†As a seasoned extreme traveler himself, he knows what it is to wander, and readers of all spiritual persuasions will appreciate his gentle prodding as a fellow traveler on the journey. (Sept.)
