Title: Exalted Quest
Author: Kindred Light
Publisher: New Leaf Media, LLC
ISBN: 1955136211
Pages: 264
Genre: Memoir/ Spirituality
Reviewed by: David Allen
Pacific Book Review
It’s rare to encounter the memoir of a personal journey such as this which is so successfully aligned with spiritual and psychological insight. Kindred Light, the author of this remarkable tour-de-force, gifts readers with insights wrested from decades of struggle and work upon herself.
Check out the back story. The author, a supremely articulate and gifted storyteller, grew up in a setting of unconditional love (from her mother) and ‘no-love’ (from her father.) Undaunted, she achieved a measure of academic and business success, obtaining an M.B.A. and making her mark as a manager. She falls for a simpatico achiever, Don; in tropical vacation settings, and in Northern California, the couple enjoy a whirlwind romance and the best that life has to offer. When the dust clears, they seem to have it all: a beautiful home, beaucoup material comforts, and – icing on the cake – adorable twin girls.
Kindred Light’s demons, however, are never far from home. Her rock – her mother – dies. Her husband is abusive. All of which reminds her that love is precarious, that she may be undeserving, that it can easily be torn from her. She abuses alcohol to cope with her demons. After three DUI convictions, she loses her home, her husband, her car, and the custody of her children. She is sentenced to six weeks in jail. She begins the long uphill climb toward recovery and life in jail, then in rehab.
The narrative is punctuated by gorgeous islands of insight and reflections on love, parenthood, strength and loss. Her descriptions of raising her children glow with intense feeling; the descriptions will bring readers to tears. (One of her many Herculean tasks is guiding one of her children through gender reassignment. Another is negotiating the obstacle course of single parenthood and shared custody.) It is unusual for a writer in a single book to display and share insights in both the spiritual and interpersonal realm – Exalted Quest does this, and does it masterfully.
The keys to the kingdom are laid out for all to see. Despite the frequent allusions to her ‘higher self’ and to her ‘Sir Ego’, there is nothing supernatural nor mystical about this woman’s achievements. Her intelligence shines through on every page, in each reflection, aphorism, and nugget of personal insight.
She finds the right teachers, including an inner guide, accessible teachings from books including The Untethered Soul, and Autobiography of a Yogi, and loving caring helpers along the way. Her enthusiasm for the work of Marianne Williamson, and for A Course in Miracles, is not only infectious but justified. Kindred Light’s lifetime of work on herself paid off and will motivate like-minded readers as well. In the author’s words, “Forgiveness is the cure for victimhood.”
The writer practices what she preaches. She is a yogi, and a yoga instructor, serving as a consultant to finance non-profit businesses in Northern California. If you will read only one self-help book – or one memoir – this year, make it Exalted Quest. The writing is intelligent, passionate, ultimately convincing. Here is the story of a woman who pulled herself up, a story which will give every reader insight into their own lives.
