The Age of Miracles

January 15, 2008
Williamson is unarguably one of the most visible and influential writers in spirituality and almost as puzzling as the book that was her inspiration and the foundation of her early fame, "A Course in Miracles". Raised in a Jewish household, Williamson, after a string of personal mishaps entirely typical of American life, found her way to the "Course", a book dictated by, so its "medium" Helen Schucman claimed, the voice of Jesus. Williamson's book-length exposition of Schucman's curious post-Christian mysticism, "Return to Love" (1992), became a best seller. Williamson's later work has distanced itself from the "Course", and "The Age of Miracles" is hardly an exception to this later practiceit is a grab bag of anecdote, precepts, and bland advice on middle age (Williamson herself is in her middle fifties). Its publication, although it scarcely mentions the "Course", will coincide (or perhaps the better word is "converge") with Williamson's new lectures on the "Course" on Oprah Winfrey's radio channel, XM 156. The force of Oprah's approbation is so great as to render review almost irrelevant, but we will say that "The Age of Miracles" is more of the same for the persuaded and will not damage innocent minds. For most collections.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2007
Williamson, the best-selling author of A Return to Love (1991) and other self-help books that reference A Course in Miracles, a New Age bible, here reframes her message for baby boomers, of whom she is one. And in true boomer fashion, she wants readers to know that midlife and beyond doesnot have to be a time for winding down but, rather, a period of rebirth. This, however, is not a given. For the last half of life to be transformational, it must be examined. Williamson offers a spot-on reviewof thetypical boomerstwenties andthirties, with many references to her own experiences, and explains how the Sturm und Drang of those years can be alchemized to the highest manifestation of our talents; something useful to not onlyourselves but others. For a New Age guru, Williamson is an elegant writer, and her skill with words and phrases is evident here. She does, however, have a problem with repetition, both between the covers of this book and in terms of the similarity of all her works. The message of both Williamsons works and The Course in Miracles is love, forgiveness, and the ways to prevent separationfrom God.As important as these ideas are, there are only so many ways for one author to express them. The focus on midlife, at least, doesgive this retelling a slightly different tilt.Expect much interest from Williamsons devoted following.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)