Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation

On the day her first book came outa new translation of Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the CrossMirabai Starrs daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. "My spiritual life began the day my daughter died," writes Mirabai. Even with decades of spiritual practice and a deep immersion in the greatest mystical texts, she found herself utterly unprepared for "my most powerful catalyst for transformation, my fiercest and most compassionate teacher." With Caravan of No Despair, Mirabai shares an irreverent, uplifting, and intimate memoir of her extraordinary life journey. Through the many twists and turns of her lifeincluding a tangled relationship with a charlatan-guru, her unexpected connection with the great Christian mystics, and the loss of her daughterMirabai finds the courage to remain open and defenseless before the mystery of the divine. "Tragedy and trauma are not guarantees for a transformational spiritual experience," writes Mirabai Starr, "but they are opportunities. They are invitations to sit in the fire and allow it to transfigure us.