Every Step Is Home, by travel writer Lori Erickson, is a wonderful book about finding your true home--that is, your spiritual side--whether you wander around the world or, as she did, waited out the pandemic before hitting the road again. Like her, I find beauty and a sense of the sacred not necessarily in cathedrals or churches, but in the many wonders of the natural world. Highly recommended.

Erickson thoughtfully weaves travel narrative together with spiritual reflection and scientific explanation. She searches for practices and places that might refresh her Christian rituals which she feels have become stale, and only more so when the pandemic arrives.

As a lifelong Midwesterner and second career pastor I was introduced to unexplored sacred places closer to home: mounds in Iowa and Ohio and the sandhill crane migration in North Dakota. Erickson’s writing creates a holy appreciation for the sacred rituals of other traditions, acknowledges the spiritual restlessness that was amplified by COVID-19, and reminds me that I don’t have to take thousand mile pilgrimages to experience the holy.

The elements and themes that root each chapter offered an accessible entry into each rich reflection. When many writers are avoiding any pandemic discussion, Erickson gently prompts readers to reflect on how our own spiritual geography has been impacted by the challenges of recent years. She eloquently describes what I experienced on many of my local hikes: the sacredness that surrounds every step we take when we pay attention.

This book is very dense and detail oriented in recounting the historical, cultural, and geological details for each site, along with how they have been used for religion. Writing style is a mix of journalistic and introspective. I received a free ebook from NetGalley, which has not influenced my review. However, I wish I could have received it as a Kindle book rather than Adobe, which is hard on the eyes to read.

Given the chance to read a book that combines travel, spirituality, and locations in the U.S., I said "Yes, thank you." Most books of spiritual locations tend to be international, so having locations that don't require passports and multiple plane journeys was appealing.

I connected with some sections more than others - the caves and the volcanos especially. Some of it was the descriptive language she used for each location, and some was likely my personal interest of those areas. Erickson includes some history of each area so that the reader understands how the perception of the area's spirituality has changed over time. She includes information about campground reservations and park access so that it's easier to figure out if you want to spend the time on an internet deep dive to make the arrangements to go.

The thing that brought this from 3.5 stars to 3 was that it was too easy to put down. As much as I was interested in the overall topic and in each of the areas being described, I would have to remind myself to pick it up again after stopping overnight. It didn't have the automatic pull for me to pick it up and find out what came next.

This book is one part travel log, one part history lesson, and one part religious work. The author shares both my love of travel and my faith background, however, this book isn't specifically directed toward one religious affiliation. She provides her faith perspective, but then also includes other religions when discussing some universal concepts about the divine in nature.

While some travel lessons are universal, others are specific to a time/location. I appreciated the author's thoughts about COVID regulations and how they affected her worship experience. More so, I enjoyed reading about how she filled those unmet needs by meeting with God in nature.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

Erickson does a great job of describing interesting and 'metaphysical' locations I may never be able to visit in person. Her detailed account of her travels and editorial comments throughout made for a great read. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review her book. PS. Grew up in Wheeling, about 12 miles from the Grave Creek Mound, but only got to visit it as an adult. So was very intrigued with the cross-section depiction of the mound, as it only has a small museum inside now.

While a world traveler to different pilgrimages, Lori Erickson was faced with a dilemma. It was during COVID and overseas travel wasn’t possible and Zoom time for her church was becoming unmeaningful to her. She and her husband would travel throughout the States including Alaska and Hawaii searching for renewal and inspiration. Each chapter has a picture of the subject matter: The trip begins when they leave their home in Iowa and travel to New Mexico to Chimayo where dirt is considered holy and the last stop returns to New Mexico to Chaco Canyon with the topic of Astronomy which forces the eyes to heaven. It’s a wonderful travelogue because she did her research and shares that process with the reader before embarking on each destination and yet focuses on what a guide will teach the couple about the site but allowing them time to simply walk, stop and listen to what a particular site offers as a pilgrimage. In Oregon the focus was water and the hot springs. Particularly interesting is the situation that she only had a vague idea with the region where to locate the springs but to protect the locale, she does not disclose the exact locations for two of the springs they find. Great reader for the armchair traveler but to ponder her lessons will certainly encourage anyone searching for the spirit. Does she find a reason to return to her own church or does she feel a need to continue searching for the spiritual need in her life; read this book and find out or perhaps it will help to follow her trail to find enrichment in your own spiritual life. Thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press; this is my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The book is subtitled “A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska” and explores sacred places, those places defined in some manner as having an element connected with or to God (or the gods). As a travel writer dealing with the restlessness of confinement during the COVID lockdown, Erickson asks the question of what does it mean to seek the spirit(s) outside the walls of a building? The answer is perhaps we need to shift perspective, get out of our ordinary plane of existence and find a new vantage point. Packing up their teardrop camper, Erickson and her husband hit the road and visited the following places:

The Marching Bears, Iowa (element: mounds)
El Santuario de Chimayó, New Mexico (element: dirt)
The Sandhill Crane Migration, Nebraska (element: air)
The Ancient Ohio Trail, Ohio (element: mounds)
Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota (element: stone)
Redwood National, California (element: trees)
Various Hot Springs, Oregon (element: water)
Dunbar Cave, Tennessee (element: caves)
Buffalo Roundup, South Dakota (element: animals)
Northern Lights, Alaska (element: lights)
Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii (element: fire)
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico (element: astronomy)

Erickson gives us the history of each place, the connection to its element, the reason why these places are venerated, and makes further connections to other sacred places.

What a journey! And I wish I had a teardrop camper as I need to see some of these places in person:

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

Every Step is Home called out to me because it promised to take me to eleven US locations where I could find a spiritual connection to the natural world. I spend a lot of time exploring N. America in my campervan and always look for new places to explore. Even though I've driven around all 48 lower states, I've only visited or experienced two of the 11 sites described by Lori Erickson. Five of her offerings had slipped entirely under my radar, while the others were on my unending bucket list. After reading her book, all nine sites/events I haven't explored are high on my bucket list. Of the locations I have visited (the California Redwoods and The Ancient Ohio Trail), both are on my list of all-time favorite places to explore.

Given this, I can't rate this book lower than four stars - it's a travel book that has inspired me to visit the locations described. However, as a reading experience, I found the prose uninspired. At times, it read like a school assignment for an expository essay, with paragraphs listing factoids like they were jotted down in a stack of notecards. Even so, the tales will spark your wanderlust - especially if you find your heart connections in the natural world.

If you are seeking inspiration for a cross-country road trip or are looking for destinations to explore in Hawaii and Alaska, you'll find plenty of ideas here. I doubt you will find much spiritual enlightenment in the book's stories. Still, the point is to encourage you to explore these places in real life - to deepen your connection with the natural world. Many sites need all your senses to adequately experience and require visits at specific times of the year.

This book would make an excellent gift for someone who loves exploring nature.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange or a review.

Even if I'm not Christian I loved this book because it's full of food for thought, interesting spiritual experiences and diferent things that can be considered spiritual.
A huge cathedral can be very beautiful but it can also be full of people chattering makeing impossible to find the silence needed for living any spiritual experience.
There's a lot to learn reading this book and it would be a great guide for a travel.
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Travel writer Lori Erickson describes herself as Christian but spiritually restless. Frustrated by the limitations of church services held via Zoom during the COVID pandemic, she and her husband set out to explore sacred sites around the United States, and Erickson writes about the spiritual insights she gains from these experiences.

The book is organized into a prologue and eleven chapters, each focused on one geographic area and an element it represents (such as trees, water, stone, and fire). In addition to describing the sites, Erickson includes tangents on various related topics, such as the Wim Hoff Method in the chapter on air. Expect brief introductions to various religious traditions, myths, legends, and historical figures. Some chapters resonated with me more than others, but all were interesting. I was familiar with some of the locations Erickson describes, but a few I had never heard of. I hope to visit some of these places someday.

A single black and white photograph precedes each chapter. My one disappointment in this book is the lack of additional photographs.

The back matter includes notes and a brief discussion guide for book groups.

Thanks to Westminster John Knox Press for providing me with an electronic ARC through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

EVERY STEP IS HOME by Lori Erickson is wonder-filled, gape-mouthed pleasure. Erickson is the rarest of writers in enabling me to see and feel her experiences and enjoy every minute of what she shares as if I were spending time with a long-known, much-beloved and trusted friend -- who also happens to tempt me into my own wide-eyed exploration of this world. I especially appreciated her descriptions of Alaska's Northern Lights and Oregon's hot springs, making me seriously consider ways to see them for myself -- however, this is the case with all the other places she describes so vividly and compellingly that I feel I've been there myself. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I so enjoyed traveling with Lori and her husband Bob in this wonderful book about their explorations of spiritual sites in the US during the pandemic. Her writing style is enjoyable and flows easily, without getting in the way of her story. I felt like I could imagine all the places they went, even though only one black and white photo was included with each location. Having just read Luke Russert’s “Look for Me There,” who goes soul-searching around the planet, it was nice to read about my own country and its amazing sights and animals. Highly recommend to travel readers.

Every Step Is Home: A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska
I was gifted this book by NetGalley in exchange for a review. Every opinion is my own!




From Amazon:

Globetrotting travel writer Lori Erickson has long searched for the sacred in locations and cultures far from home as well as in her beloved Iowa. But when the pandemic put both air travel and in-person worship off-limits, Lori and her husband hit the road with a camper in tow to discover spiritual sites and experiences in their own home country.

From the Serpent Mound of Ohio to the Redwoods of California—and, ultimately, by air to see natural wonders in Alaska and Hawaii—Erickson uncovers deep connections both to the lands that now make up the United States and to the elements that have had sacred meaning to people throughout history and across the globe. Through her profound, informative, and witty reflections on the power of stone, water, light, fire, and more, readers will discover new destinations in North America while deepening their own connection to spirit. Whether exploring national parks or visiting holy sites, this book makes for the perfect spiritual companion and guide.



My Take:

A few years ago, I took a trip to Sedona, Arizona. It was my second time there. My first trip was when my daughter was very young and we only spent about 8 hours there. I felt a draw while I was there, my spirit was happy and I began to learn about spiritual contexts that were outside of religion. When I went the second time, I spent time with people who lived there, who told me their stories about the magical land that was Sedona.

So when I happened upon this author, Lor Erickson, I knew why someone would be compelled to write about sacred places. Her bond with the natural world, finding her spirit not in a building but with nature, reminds me of my own father. Every Sunday he would go fishing, finding the peace and connection he needed on the water with a rod and reel. It wasn't a far stretch to imagine someone connecting and communing with nature in a deeply spiritual way. If this sounds like you, then I can fully recommend this book to you.



About the Author:





Lori Erickson is one of America's top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys. She is the author of The Soul of the Family Tree, Near the Exit (which won a Silver INDIES Award for 2019 Religion Book of the Year from Foreword Reviews), and Holy Rover. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Traveler, and Better Homes & Gardens, among others. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with her husband, Bob Sessions.



Product Details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Westminster John Knox Press (September 5, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0664268323
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0664268329
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #797,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#258 in Literary & Religious Travel Guides
#7,453 in Christian Inspirational
#14,886 in Christian Spiritual Growth (Books)

When I got an email from Net Gallery to request the book “Every Step is Home” by Lori Erickson I was excited. It sounded like it was a travel book around the United States. I am not particularly spiritual so that part was not intriguing to me. Anyway I thought why not, so when I was approved I downloaded it. Unfortunately it only downloaded to Net Gallery Shelf which I don’t like because I can only read it on my phone which is too small. I would never read a Christian inspired book but I started and actually got into this book. I also liked that the author is about my age, 60. The author and her husband visit a wide variety of places and she discusses all the involved spiritual groups associated with each site. It is like a basic primer on religion but she has a very interesting, readable approach. It certainly will make me think differently of sacred sites I visit, or even thinking of more things being sacred like soil and rock.
I found her spirituality not over the top and her information about each of her sites was really interesting. I particularly like the chapter on the Redwood trees in California and how she viewed them as cathedrals and perhaps they are the model for our human built cathedrals.
Her chapters on hot springs as well as other sites were very similar to what I have experienced, so I enjoyed that. I guess all these places are special and you might view them as religious or not but certainly deserving of our protection and respect. This is a very fun, quick read that might inspire you to get out there and explore nature. You might even want to take this book along as you visit some of the sites she mentions, of course some locations she does not disclose like those special hot spring sites.

This book was a joy to read. Discovering these sites as an armchair traveler was not only fascinating but this was written as if the author was sitting in your living room telling you of each experience. I will recommend to one of my book clubs because it would be interesting to discuss with others, and possibly visit one or more of these sites!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a lovely book! I really enjoyed the author's travels around the country. I'm a sucker for travel adventures, and I also need to do a little more exploring in my backyard. It was beautiful to see the different significant places as the author journeyed around and explored them.

Highly recommend this book!

Sorry, my mistake. I didn't realize this was download only. I don't have time to sit in front of my desktop and read it. It does sound like something I would very much like to read. If you have a kindle version or a paper copy I will read and review it.

Every Step Is Home by Lori Erickson is a beautiful narrative. It opens up with the spiritual journey of the author through travelling. And not only just travelling to different places for site seeing but with a simple and beautiful purpose. The most remarkable aspect of this book is that the author connects herself with life's basic elements, i.e. Dirt, Air, Mounds, Trees, Caves, Water, Animals, Northern lights, etc.

Each chapter opens the doors of wisdom to the reader gained through travelling to different sacred and ancient sites. The author doesn’t stop here. She astonishes the reader with her amazing knowledge of the scientific explanation of all these life elements. The book makes the reader understand how, by simply connecting with these basic elements of life, you can have inner peace and balance.

Apart from that, the reader also enjoys the beautiful chemistry between the author and her husband Bob, who always accompanies her through her spiritual journey from Appalachia to Alaska. From the agony of staying home with COVID-19 restrictions to Lori’s love for the water, and Bob’s open resistance is very sweetly narrated. There are photos before each chapter, which are mostly taken by the author’s husband. It shows Bob’s keen interest in photography.

The title of the book Every Step Is Home is simple, yet holds depth in it. With even just the title, the reader’s curiosity to give read to this amazing book increases.

Another beautiful thing the reader feels through the narration is Lori’s attachment to her mom and how she tries to convert her pain of losing her into positive spiritual energy. Her visit to the church, the connection with dirt and ashes and various references to other people’s experiences, are astounding.

The language throughout the book is simple and very approachable to the reader. All these chapters have so much to deliver that one gets lost in the pages and willingly takes a spiritual journey along with the author. I will like the readers to go through this experience on their own and feel that level of peace and balance which Lori keeps talking about throughout the book. Every Step Is Home is a soul healer and is recommended for a general audience. Well done Lori.

Staycation travel writing at its most thoughtful. This book is heartfelt. Informative. Well written. Inspiring. All around excellent read.