Amy Frykholm
With a scholar's eye and a mystic's heart, Frykholm offers a look at an elusive and dynamic figure from history while offering insights into our own inner--and potentially rewilded--lives. In search of Mary, the author traveled throughout Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, walking deeper and deeper into the desert, across thresholds of space and time, to find the meaning of Mary of Egypt's life--as well as her own embrace of the wild and sacred within.
Publisher's Weekly
“Frykholm’s lyrical reflections on Mary of Egypt
as an “icon of desire” are stirring (“At the edge of yourself, you stumble onto her. She is already
ahead of you in the wilderness—the Wild Woman, that deep woman of myth, who goes away from outer authority
to find an inner authority, who goes out into the wilderness to seek bewilderment”), though her attempts
to tease out Mary’s story never reach a definitive conclusion, and readers will likely find this works
better as a spiritual reflection than as a travelogue. Despite this, patient readers will find many
intelligent takes on the value of pursuing the sacred in one’s life.”
Presbyterian Outlook
“In addition to the engrossing story of these outward and inward pilgrimages,
readers will appreciate Frykholm’s own translation of Sophronious’ account of Mary and the monk Zosimas
(painstakingly created by Frykholm and her father, a Greek scholar). The memoir concludes with
“Life of Mary of Egypt,” followed by a poem of Mary’s three meetings with the monk that describes him
encountering her body and burying her with the help of a lion. The inclusion of these two pieces adds
academic and artistic intensity to the book.”
Leadville Herald Democrat
From the flight of Mary’s story into her hands in a Boulder library
to her trek to the ancient desert monasteries, Frykholm’s “Wild Woman” is a story of signs. “You have to
hone your skills of perception,” Frykholm writes, “cultivate the mysteries of beholding, attend relentlessly
to what the ‘intelligence of the present’ is telling you … lean in close and listen.”
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The first fully-realized biography of Julian—theologian, anchorite, and visionary of the Middle Ages.
"Frykholm...has audaciously done something many people would have said was not possible: written [Julian's] biography. Frykholm has combined a careful reading of Julian's writings…with a deep immersion in the scholarship of 14th-century England to offer an informed and absorbing...account of Julian's life." –Lauren F. Winner, Books & Culture
"It reads with the energy of a novel and the insight of a spiritual classic." –Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Christianity Today
“Deeply moving” - Michael McLean, founder of The Friends of Julian
“Crackling with life...” - The Denver Post
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"(See Me Naked) is an essential book, and will perhaps begin the national conversation that we deserve." - Paul Landerman Chicago EDGE
"Frykholm presents a pretty compelling picture of how American Christians of various stripes have viewed the sensory world with suspicion, a suspicion that cripples people by putting that which is embodied and that which is spiritual in conflict." -Rachael Stone Eat with Joy
"A fascinating, troubling, and finally heartening book that subtly shows ways that Christians might reconcile their bodies with their devotion to God." - Graham Christian Library Journal
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"An informative, brightly written analysis of apocalyptic sentiment on the popular level. This is a most interesting book and an important contribution to the growing literature on evangelicalism." -Randall Balmer, author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America
"Rapture Culture offers fresh and illuminating insights into one of the most significant cultural phenomena of our era, the explosion of interest in biblical prophecies of the end times. Drawing on in-depth interviews, Amy Johnson Frykholm shrewdly explores the popular reception of the bestselling Left Behind prophecy novels as readers share their responses in the context of family, church, and other social networks. This eminently readable book explores the interaction of contemporary American religion, cultural politics, gender issues, and the mass media. Highly recommended." -Paul S. Boyer, author of When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture
"This fascinating book is a one-of-a-kind look at how people read religious literature. Thoroughly engaging, it asks us to consider the importance of imagination in the construction of a spiritual life. The author gives us an inside view of often conflicting interpretations that Christians give of the drama of the End Times."
-Colleen McDannell, author of Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America
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In this crisp and engaging volume Amy Frykholm offers a tour through more than two millennia of Christian thought on the future. Starting with the contexts of the Hebrew Bible and moving forward, Frykholm outlines the enduring fascination believers have had with future events and the myriad ways they have articulated their beliefs about what the future holds. From the imperial contexts of the book of Revelation to the end times prophecy of Harold Camping, Frykholm presents a thoughtful and insightful journey.