July 21, 2022

Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris
#throwbackthursday

Genre/Categories/Setting: Nonfiction, Memoir, Essay, Rural Life, Reflections, Faith

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m sharing a special book I read years ago but have never reviewed on the blog, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Amazon Summary:

“Kathleen Norris invites readers to experience rich moments of prayer and presence in Dakota, a timeless tribute to a place in the American landscape that is at once desolate and sublime, harsh and forgiving, steeped in history and myth. In thoughtful, discerning prose, she explores how we come to inhabit the world we see, and how that world also inhabits us. Her voice is a steady assurance that we can, and do, chart our spiritual geography wherever we go.”

My Thoughts:

As this post is published, I’m on a plane heading for a family reunion in rural, northeastern South Dakota! This book captures many of my feelings about my home state. I have the fondest memories of corn fields, 360-degree views of the horizon, rolling hills, pastures, cows, chickens (and my grandmother chasing them around the farmyard to wring a neck, chop off a head, pluck feathers, and cook one for dinner), barn cats, eating peas directly from the pod in my grandma’s garden, blizzards (and making homemade ice cream), endless skies, wind, kick the can (in a dark farmyard!), small-town life (including “going to town” on Saturday nights), dark nights, starry skies, isolation, thunderstorms, corn fields, friendly/nice people, windmills, afternoons at the lake, fishing, taking my dad lunch in the fields, and country roads. 

Do you love reading books that mention your home state or towns and locations with which you are familiar? Personal connections make the reading experience so much more enjoyable!

Even if you’re not from the Dakotas, you might appreciate this memoir if you love rural life, beautiful prose, and spiritual reflections.

QOTD:

What is one book with which you have a deep personal connection?