What happens when a former Zen Buddhist monk and his feminist wife experience an apparition of the Virgin Mary?
“This book could not have come at a more auspicious time, and the message is mystical perfection, not to mention a courageous one. I adore this book.”—Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the SpiritBefore a vision of a mysterious “Lady” invited Clark Strand and Perdita Finn to pray the rosary, they were not only uninterested in becoming Catholic but finished with institutional religion altogether. Their main spiritual concerns were the fate of the planet and the future of their children and grandchildren in an age of ecological collapse. But this Lady barely even referred to the Church and its proscriptions. Instead, she spoke of the miraculous power of the rosary to transform lives and heal the planet, and revealed the secrets she had hidden within the rosary’s prayers and mysteries—secrets of a past age when forests were the only cathedrals and people wove rose garlands for a Mother whose loving presence was as close as the ground beneath their feet. She told Strand and Finn:
The rosary is My body, and My body is the body of the world. Your body is one with that body. What cause could there be for fear? Weaving together their own remarkable story of how they came to the rosary, their discoveries about the eco-feminist wisdom at the heart of this ancient devotion, and the life-changing revelations of the Lady herself, the authors reveal an ancestral path—available to everyone, religious or not—that returns us to the powerful healing rhythms of the natural world.
What happens when a former Zen Buddhist monk and his feminist wife experience an apparition of the Virgin Mary?
When a vision of a mysterious "Lady" invited Clark Strand and Perdita Finn to pray the rosary, not only were they disinterested in becoming Catholic, they were finished with institutional religion altogether. Their main spiritual concerns were the fate of the planet and the future of their children and grandchildren in an age of ecological collapse. But this Lady barely even referred to the Church and its proscriptions. She spoke of the miraculous power of the rosary to transform lives and heal the planet, revealing the secrets she had hidden within the rosary's prayers and mysteries-secrets of a past age when forests were the only cathedrals and people wove "rose garlands" for a Mother whose loving presence was as close as the ground beneath their feet. She told Strand and Finn:
The rosary is My body,
and My body is the body of the world.
Your body is one with that body.
What cause could there be for fear?
Weaving together their own remarkable story of how they came to the rosary, their discoveries about the eco-feminist wisdom at the heart of this ancient devotion, and the life-changing revelations of the Lady herself, the authors reveal an ancestral path-available to everyone, religious or not-that returns us to the powerful healing rhythms of the natural world.
Advance praise for The Way of the Rose
"My favorite part of this robust and exquisitely written book is the storytelling. I love the way the authors work together to weave a luminous tapestry of travel memoir, tender awakening, and championship of Our Mother the Earth. While the particular spiritual insights are consciousness-raising and heart-opening, it does not matter what the reader's religious orientation (or lack thereof) may be: This is a universal story of love, a huge-hearted invitation to step up and into the field of the sacred feminine, a gratifying guide to a life of joy and service."-Mirabai Starr, author of God of Love and Wild Mercy
"Clark Strand and Perdita Finn have answered a collective need to help us discover the empowering and miraculous non-denominational spiritual practice of prayer. The Way of the Rose is brilliantly written and filled with a wealth of stories meant to inspire us. I feel blessed by reading this beautiful and sacred book."-Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and The Book of Ceremony
“A masterwork that will leave you in tears, it comes to the world, as the Lady herself always comes, in our hour of need.”
—Eric Utne, founder of Utne Reader and author of Far Out Man “In times of turmoil we need a tangible practice to help us release worry.
The Way of the Rose gives us an ancient, sustainable answer for how to root into peace and wisdom beyond dogma and traditions. I can’t recommend this book enough.”
—HeatherAsh Amara, author of The Warrior Heart Practice “Ultimately,
The Way of the Rose is a love song to the world, and to the mysteries of the world. Moving and profound, powerful and elegant, it is a call for us to remember our place in the larger community of humans past, present, and future, and our place in the larger community of life on this planet.”
—Derrick Jensen, author of The Myth of Human Supremacy “
The Way of the Rose is both a firsthand account of mystic initiation and a revelation of the Divine Feminine in an age of patriarchal madness—erudite, irreverent, and wise. . . . Manna from heaven.”
—Mark Matousek, author of Mother of the Unseen World “This is a universal story of love, a huge-hearted invitation to step up and into the field of the sacred feminine, a gratifying guide to a life of joy and service.”
—Mirabai Starr, author of Wild Mercy “
The Way of the Rose is brilliantly written and filled with a wealth of stories meant to inspire us. I feel blessed by reading this beautiful and sacred book.”
—Sandra Ingerman, author of The Book of Ceremony “A wonderful book . . . As I read it, I couldn't help but remember my grandmothers and aunts praying—how gentle they were when they handled each bead in prayer.”
—Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr., author of The Five Levels of Attachment 
