Sibyl Dana ReynoldsInk and Honey

Ink and Honey will always be a work of art I will need to read again and again. For someone who takes forever to get through a book, I couldn't put it down. Not only did it touch a spiritual place in me that had yearned for awakening, but I fell in love with the characters and was enthralled with an adventure and time and place I had not yet experienced.The author depicted the characters and scenes in a tangible and palpable sense. The level of detail and description made you feel like you were there and her stories in this novel weave together like a symphony for the senses.A must read if you're bored with the same scenes played with the same people. Ink and Honey awakened my imagination--taking me to a deeper understanding of spiritual truth and women's trials and tribulations through the ages. Hoping there is a next book! Didn't want it to end!

Sibyl Dana Reynold's book, Ink and Honey, is a magnificently told story about a small group of medieval woman living and working together in spiritual harmony during a time when it was not easy for women to make such choices. These "Sisters of Belle Coeur" were early feminists and pioneers who courageously chose a faith-based and visionary path to create a better world amidst much darkness. Filled with hope, inspiration, lush details and storytelling, this is a fabulous read for women of all ages AND the men who love them. A great book for group discussions and for individual journaling. I carry my copy with me everywhere and find myself re-reading many passages, making notes and writing in my journal. And the conversations I've had with strangers who inquire about the book have been amazing. Even though the book is available on the Kindle (which I also have for convenience), there is something to be said in this day and age for carrying and reading and marking in an actual physical copy of a book. I can't recommend Ink and Honey highly enough.

My only problem with rating this book is that there's nothing beyond a "5". For this one, I wish there were something like "once in a lifetime" or "rarest of treasures."I must confess that I was startled when a clergy friend who shared my beyond-the-pale experience of Ink and Honey wrote that some of the folks to whom she'd recommended it responded that they "just didn't get it." I did feel while reading it that (1) it's a woman's book (2) it's for women who are dedicated to their spiritual journey (3) probably most relevant to women in Catholic traditions, i.e., Roman Catholic or Anglo-Catholic/Episcopal. All that said, I also thought, "Who am I to limit to whose soul this book might speak as powerfully as to mine, but in a different way?" And so I add that the 3 above were my personal assumptions, not necessarily correct.First, I know and adore the region of France in which the book takes place. Though the Sisters of Belle Coeur never made it to Vezelay, I've been there, worshipped in the Cathedral, and had a profound "Experience" there of Light, of Truth, of Welcome, of the Message of The Christ. I spent the better part of a day thoroughly enjoying the people and shops in the village area nearby. I've breathed deep in the profound subtle light of Chartres, have among my treasures a piece of rock from the same quarry as its Labyrinth, and remain in awe at the magnificence of its stained glass. I also have long harbored deep within me a calling to the Canonical Hours ~ something about them seems to be profoundly in tune with Nature Herself. I'm a Reiki Initiate, which points to my devotion to healing and the Healing Arts. And I'm an Episcopal priest, which covers a lot of the rest of the book, including hospitality, ritual and liturgy, etc,. While it might appear that I could believe the book was written expressly for someone like me, I think its themes are universal beyond the individual experiences of any one person.All of that said, I was not prepared for the extraordinary impact the story of a fictitious little band of early 13th cen. women had on me. Some of it involves the ancient and, sadly, contemporary tale of violence born out of ignorance and fear, of assumptions and generalizations escalated to wickedness, of allegiances demanded and, dismayingly, pledged. That part gets the blood flowing, the blood pressure up, and the mind producing endless arguments and refutations. It's the other side, though, the Heart-and-Soul Opening side, that gently, inexorably, yields itself to the women's faith and faithfulness, their dedication, their courage (not "guts" but literally from the French "Coeur," or "heart"), their steadfastness, their creativity, knowledge, and skill. Reynolds dares to speak of God and God's designs and intentions for this world of ours. Blessedly, her view is in stark contrast to most of what one gets from those in the media these days, who declare a punitive God of judgment and seem to know exactly what groups are outside God's embrace. The biblical imperative of Hospitality, from Genesis through Revelation, permeates this book, no matter how strange the Stranger. At times, as I read along, it was almost as if my heart knew the Truth that was coming before my mind apprehended the words, thus meaning that tears streamed unbidden down my cheeks as I did. I'd have to admit I probably cried through about 25% of the book, not because I was sad about the events or the characters, but because of the profundity of the beauty and truths I was encountering.Of course this is a book I'd choose for the proverbial "What would you take if you were going to be marooned on a desert island?" If I'm truly honest, I don't think I can get back far enough from it to say a critical or negative word about it at all, nor do I think I can assume that there is ANY heart, ANY soul, male or female, that wouldn't be reached by some aspect of this story. Reynolds claims to have labored on it for 20 years. I'm reminded that Mother Julian of Norwich did the same before she wrote down her Revelations of Divine Love, the first book ever in English by a woman. This isn't a tale that could have been written quickly, nor one that could have been written by a younger person. This is a tale so embodied, so imbued with life, and faith, experience, and devotion to God's voice that it required years of gestation, of the marvelous Alchemy that takes the Ordinary and works it to birth the Golden.

I chose this book on the recommendation of the spiritual director at church. I love the idea Reynolds is exploring here, that of an independent community of women healers and mystics who live outside church authority, and the lessons they have for modern Christian women. I found the writing to be so poor that it was very difficult to read. This book is a great concept in desperate need of a good editor to make it easier for the reader.

I was surprised when our ladies book club choose Ink and Honey for its April 2014 discussion. We are not a religious group. In fact, we are a very diverse group of women from various religious backgrounds including Christian Evangelicals to followers of Kabbala to leaders of Eastern meditation. We also have a few non-believers. But we all come together once a month to read books that will stir our imaginations and push us out of our comfort zones. Ink and Honey certainly has stirred the pot! I would highly recommend this novel for women's book clubs who want to be introduced to independent women healers, visionaries, mystics and artisans who lived the thirteenth century in medieval France. Ink and Honey can be a page turner, but it is much better to read it slowly and take in the sacred mysteries as they are gradually revealed.

I enjoyed this little gem. It was one of those 'books' (though I got it on Kindle) that was hard to put down. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially stories about women, monastic communities, and 'underdogs'--this maybe something you will like. It is beautifully written and imaginative.