MY YEAR OF LIVING SPIRITUALLY: From Woo-Woo to Wonderful — One Woman’s Secular Quest for a More Soulful Life by Anne Bokma is out now from Douglas & McIntyre!
“…a candid, fearless odyssey of the heart and soul.” — Rona Maynard, author of My Mother’s Daughter andformer Editor of Chatelaine
”…a brave work that points to life’s inherent value, and our calling to connect with ourselves, each other and the world around us.” — Brent van Staalduinen, author of Boy and Saints, Unexpected
“If seeking and questioning draws the soul to maturity, then we should all embark on the type of illuminating, and at times hilarious, journey that Bokma writes about so sensitively and honestly.” — Jane Christmas, author of And Then There Were Nuns and What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim
In 2017, Anne embarked on a quest to become a more spiritual person. Raised in a strict fundamentalist Christian home, she left her religion many years ago but felt something was missing from her life. Her spiritual self was flagging and she wanted to revive her soul. She embarked on a holy host of spiritual practices to try and do just that.
MY YEAR OF LIVING SPIRITUALLY documents a diverse range of practices, from singing in choirs to starting a gratitude practice, observing Lent and going on a pilgrimage. Some were more unconventional—she spent a week at a witch camp, took magic mushrooms for the first time, had a past life regression therapy session, hosted a death dinner, and picked out her own coffin. Along the way, she reconsiders key relationships in her life and begins to experience the greater depth of meaning, connection, gratitude and inner peace that she was longing for.
Part seeker’s memoir, part spiritual travelogue, this is a book for anyone looking to uncover—or recover—their spiritual self.
ANNE BOKMA is an internationally recognized award-winning freelance journalist who specializes in writing on spiritual topics. She’s the “Spiritual but Secular” columnist for Broadview (previously the United Church Observer) and her articles have appeared in many of Canada’s leading national magazines and newspapers, including the Toronto Star, Canadian Living, Best Health, Reader’s Digest, Today’s Parent, MoneySense and Chatelaine. She is a dynamic public speaker and the founder of the popular 6-Minute Memoir “speed storytelling for a cause,” a charitable series of events which brings together storytellers to share tales on a theme. She lives in Hamilton, ON. Anne is represented by agent Amy Tompkins.