Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris

¶ … Dakota: a Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris

Dakota: a Spiritual Journey, by award-winning writer Kathleen Norris, covers the author's move, with her family, from New York City to rural South Dakota. The book covers the changes the author experienced in her life following the move: her disengagement from city life, and her immersion in to the daily rhythms of life in the country. The book follows the transformation of the author following this immersion in country living, and describes how the landscape, rather than everyday stresses, began to rule her life, and how the peace and tranquility of her surroundings became her comfort, rather than the noise of the city, and networks of friends, as had been the case in her life in New York.

By recording the pathway of these changes, the book reveals how the author found herself becoming a much more spiritual person, following her encounters with tranquility and simplicity on a daily, an hourly, basis. The author discusses how the boundaries between 'inner' and 'outer' scenery become difficult to distinguish when one becomes totally consumed by the landscape in which one lives, something that she asserts is reinforced by simplicity in daily life. How these lessons translated, for her, in to an inner, secure, spirituality is the core of the book.

The book also discusses a little of Dakotan history, which, as I say, is interspersed with discussions of other issues, such as spirituality and 'sense of self'. Certain chapters are more detailed than others: the one I particularly liked was the chapter describing the small church at Hope, which gives a most interesting insight in to the dynamics of a small community of farmers and ranchers. Another part of the book that was particularly enjoyable, and also touching, was when the author discussed her immersion in monastic life, following her various encounters with a community of Catholic monks. Other parts of the book, notably her remarks about tofu being a foreign concept in South Dakota, are particularly funny, and help to make the book an easy, entertaining read.