Unnatural Separations: A Brief Memoir About Spiritual Transformation in An Academic World by Laura ClementzMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
When I began reading the introduction to ‘Unnatural Separations’ I had difficulty in understanding what the book was about to tell me. It states in the sub-title that it is a ‘brief memoir about spiritual transformation’ and so I was prepared for a narrative that would include, I assumed, the usual discourse of introspection by the author from time to time. However, after reading around half of the book I began to feel somewhat overwhelmed by the diarist approach to Clementz’s writing. It was interspersed with many chunks of philosophical terminology that had me reaching constantly for ‘The Oxford Companion to Philosophy’, and of course that took me off track with its own constant references to further explanations. This was not entirely unexpected as the author’s master’s degree includes philosophy. I was not entirely ungrateful to the author for pushing me into revising concepts like empiricism, epistemology, the soul and spirituality, and it did help me confirm a future aim to avoid books described as ‘memoires’ - noire or otherwise!
Confusingly, it was not until I had read the last page that I began to understand the introduction, and thus some of the theorising in the book, when I went back to read it again. When the author takes a refreshing vacation, and a new clarity about her suitability for her career enters her thinking, then a different self-awareness seems to come over her. Whether this was spiritual or supernatural in nature at all I found doubtful. It was more a case of allowing oneself time to rethink one’s life, so far! Significant decisions about her options had to be considered and resolved. The refreshing reminder about the wonders of the natural world that crept back into her consciousness, releasing a much needed peace, caused me to sigh with relief on Clementz’s behalf.
But then I was still left wondering what on earth were those two decades, previous eight chapters and scores of pages all about? The main saving grace for me was there was no attempt, using ill-informed pseudo-science, to justify the existence of some form of divine ‘unmoved mover’ in the outer heavens to whom confused and frightened humans may turn for guidance.
View all my reviews
RSS Feed
