Los Angeles, CA—Transformation in the face of hardship is on full display in Sara Taft's inspiriting autobiography, Mary Magdalene, Shaman: Awakening to the Indigenous Christian Soul. Peppered with her beautiful artwork, created at various times in Sara's life, highlights a story which takes the reader around the world in search of answers and enlightenment. From the outback of Australia to the Arizona desert to Mount Sinai and thence to France, on a Holy Pilgrimage focused on Mary Magdalene, the other Mary in the life of Jesus who is vastly important to the history of Christianity and the Faith.
Sara Taft's life of searching involves an up and tale until a major watershed event—she was diagnosed with failing liver from a rare auto-immune disease which eventually led to transplant at age 66.
The following review, from author Michael B. Butler, offers an overview of the book:
A Journey of Redemption, Resurrection and Survival Worth Taking
"Sara Taft's book, Mary Magdalene, Shaman: Awakening to the Indigenous Christian Soul,' is essentially one of rebirth, redemption, survival and resurrection. Her life from early childhood until a decade after an auto-immune disease forced to her have a liver transplant, at 66 in September 2000, is deftly laid out chronologically with extreme care. As the title indicates, Mary Magdalene is an important part of her story and search for 'sacred feminine power through her image,' which really takes flight after the successful surgery and a Mary Magdalene Holy Pilgrimage to France.
"Never living a life one might call deprived or in want, Sara, whose real name is Shirley, grew up with strict Depression era parents, married early and began a family. Life in 1960s West Los Angeles was stable and predictable, but her restless spirit found things stifling, and Sara's search for spiritual answers, in part, created fatal rifts in their marriage. An ever increasing part of the American social landscape of the late 1970s, this rupture sent her towards helping others through astrology and a budding career as a therapist.
"Her spiritual journey gains speed in the wake of not being able to find a place in the professional therapeutic world. The reader travels with her to the outback of Australia to study with Aboriginal shamans, learning about their fascinating culture in relationship to the land and songs. Years move forward in her search for fulfillment until the dreaded diagnosis, then a journey to another shaman in the Arizona desert puts things in clear perspective.
"Her education throughout is varied and fascinating, never taking on anything wholly specific but gathering useful bits and pieces important to Sara's journey. Her painting takes on a spiritual aspect, telling the reader that 'some of the most profound experiences of my inner self occur when I paint.' In fact, many of her paintings are spread throughout the narrative to highlight the story. One other notable quote that caught my eye was: 'A new vision awaits us in the floodwaters of our lives.'
"Close to not receiving a liver transplant in time, all Sara's previous experiences play into the act of her resurrection and ability to put it in perspective in the years to follow. I will not explore the transplant story or the aftermath, for one needs to experience it with an open mind and an open heart. Cheers."
Mary Magdalene, Shaman: Awakening to the Indigenous Christian Soul (ISBN 978-1495370922) available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google Books.
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About the Author:
At age sixty-two, Sara Taft discovered she had a serious auto-immune disease that was destroying her liver. Her healing journey led her on a stunning shamanic path that revealed the power of the sacred feminine and brought her a successful liver transplant and a spiritual awakening. This transformation flourished in Sara's own artwork, featured in this book, and deepened her wisdom as an archetypal astrologer in the tradition of C. G. Jung, her professional practice for over thirty years.
Sara lives in Los Angeles, where she continues to paint, offer process-oriented astrological consultation, and participate in group dream work. She has two daughters, a son, and seven grandchildren.