In the not-so-sacred Groves of Academe, where female colleagues can be less than supportive and male colleagues downright intimidating and even devious, Kathleen Davies felt intense pressure to prove herself as an English professor. But in the beautiful local cemetery, she found a truly sacred landscape that offered not only relief but inspiration. Once she was denied the professional success she had dreamed of, her interest in cemeteries became an obsession, and her photoshoots with her dog all over Ohio evolved into a spiritual quest that led to a surprising self-discovery. By turns meditative and lyrical, at times even hilarious,Sacred Grovestraces a spiritual journey from anxiety and failure to self-acceptance. It is a book for anyone who has ever failed to prove themselves, only to discover something far more important than worldly achievement could ever give.
"Kathleen Davies’Sacred Groves: Or, How a Cemetery Saved My Soul 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 ofThe Red CarandVery Nice
“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 ofLate-Life Love
“While experiencing ‘death’ in academia, Kathleen Davies finds herself inexplicably drawn to Victorian cemeteries. There she discovers the belă
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