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God Among the Shakers: Search for Stillness & Faith at Sabbathday Lake
In the tradition of "Plain and Simple" and "The Cloister Walk", this book offers a rare, intimate account of one woman's journey into the world of the Shakers--a radical Christian sect whose belief in a Mother-Father God, equal rights for all, and direct interaction with the spirits of the dead shocked other established religious communities Print ads. NPR sponsorships .
288 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 1999
2 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Skees
5 books23 followersSuzanne Skees just published MY JOB Gen Z: Finding Your Place in a Fast-Changing World, coauthored with Sanam Yusuf.
It's the only book BY, ABOUT, and FOR Generation Z (middle schoolers to mid-twenties) that provides research and survey data on their unique qualities and what they seek from their careers and life; over 100 profiles of unknown and famous Gen Zers working toward or already in their dream jobs; and an extensive "how-to" section on tips for breaking into the workforce, communicating professionally, and building your own dream job.
The book continues Skees's social-mission book series is MY JOB: Real People at Work Around the World, a collection of first-person narratives by taxi drivers, midwives, musicians, technologists, and more, across the U.S. and around the world.
Check out the books and get updates on suzanneskees.com.
All author royalties from the series fund job-creation programs to end poverty.
Skees also works in international development as founder and storyteller of the Skees Family Foundation (skees.org), which supports vocational training and job-creation programs in the U.S. and developing countries.
Skees studied English literature (Boston College) and world religions (Harvard Divinity School) but has learned more from the school of personal mistakes and quiet listening.
Writing for online and print media, Skees travels from schools to slums, prisons to farms, serving as a storyteller for nonprofit workers, social entrepreneurs, and their courageous clients who toil every day to end poverty and create equality.
It's the only book BY, ABOUT, and FOR Generation Z (middle schoolers to mid-twenties) that provides research and survey data on their unique qualities and what they seek from their careers and life; over 100 profiles of unknown and famous Gen Zers working toward or already in their dream jobs; and an extensive "how-to" section on tips for breaking into the workforce, communicating professionally, and building your own dream job.
The book continues Skees's social-mission book series is MY JOB: Real People at Work Around the World, a collection of first-person narratives by taxi drivers, midwives, musicians, technologists, and more, across the U.S. and around the world.
Check out the books and get updates on suzanneskees.com.
All author royalties from the series fund job-creation programs to end poverty.
Skees also works in international development as founder and storyteller of the Skees Family Foundation (skees.org), which supports vocational training and job-creation programs in the U.S. and developing countries.
Skees studied English literature (Boston College) and world religions (Harvard Divinity School) but has learned more from the school of personal mistakes and quiet listening.
Writing for online and print media, Skees travels from schools to slums, prisons to farms, serving as a storyteller for nonprofit workers, social entrepreneurs, and their courageous clients who toil every day to end poverty and create equality.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2016
I've been reading a lot of darkish adult books for the Alex Awards, so finding a "palate cleanser" on my shelves was important; as we Quakers say, this spoke to my condition. Skees' stay at Sabbathday Lake and inquiry into the life of the few remaining Shakers was interesting from both a historical and a current world perspective: how did this sect manage to survive and continue to inspire? Some answers are given, along with Skees' theories on why Mother Ann may have insisted on things like celibacy.
The problem is when Skees inserts herself into the story, continually questioning how celibacy can be possible in this world. More about how she spent her time working with the Shakers or comparison between her modern life and this "throwback" would worked far better.
I did wonder how different the "Shaking Quakers" were from the original Quakers (so-called because they quaked with spirit)...
The problem is when Skees inserts herself into the story, continually questioning how celibacy can be possible in this world. More about how she spent her time working with the Shakers or comparison between her modern life and this "throwback" would worked far better.
I did wonder how different the "Shaking Quakers" were from the original Quakers (so-called because they quaked with spirit)...
January 15, 2025
The best parts were the direct quotes from the Shakers, the worst parts (more numerous) were when Skees got in the way of their stories with her Eat Pray Love personal narrative of living among them—a narrative made less convincing by the fact that she didn't actually live among them (she lived nearby) and that she visited them for a relatively brief period of time (she never says exactly how long, but it felt like three or so months—hardly a year-long mid-life pilgrimage).
But here are some quotes from the Shakers.
On how the commitment required of monogamy means sacrificing the ability to love without exclusion:
"What makes you think we're giving up on something? ... How do you know we don't have the better way and that actually the people who choose the nuclear family life have given up something?" (148).
On changing traditions to ensure that everyone can participate:
"Union is like a golden chain, and if even one link of that chain is broken, then the whole chain has to suffer ... Whatever we do, it has to be something that everyone in the community is able to join in" (179/180).
On a non-anthropomorphic God:
"Father/Mother God is a spirit, and God is love ... I think our God is an awful lot easier to believe in than the God of the average orthodox Christian" (212).
On the promise of faith, from a recent semi-convert to Shakerism:
"As I was driving along, I looked out the window and saw the sun shining so beautifully on this perfect day, and a feeling of incredible happiness just flowed through me. I can't explain it, but this sort of thing has happened several times lately. It's a feeling of sheer, unexpected joy" (258).
But here are some quotes from the Shakers.
On how the commitment required of monogamy means sacrificing the ability to love without exclusion:
"What makes you think we're giving up on something? ... How do you know we don't have the better way and that actually the people who choose the nuclear family life have given up something?" (148).
On changing traditions to ensure that everyone can participate:
"Union is like a golden chain, and if even one link of that chain is broken, then the whole chain has to suffer ... Whatever we do, it has to be something that everyone in the community is able to join in" (179/180).
On a non-anthropomorphic God:
"Father/Mother God is a spirit, and God is love ... I think our God is an awful lot easier to believe in than the God of the average orthodox Christian" (212).
On the promise of faith, from a recent semi-convert to Shakerism:
"As I was driving along, I looked out the window and saw the sun shining so beautifully on this perfect day, and a feeling of incredible happiness just flowed through me. I can't explain it, but this sort of thing has happened several times lately. It's a feeling of sheer, unexpected joy" (258).
May 25, 2025
Trying to finish this book was really tough sledding. The subject of religion is not one I take much time researching, but the Shaker Village in the next town over has always intrigued me. I shot a story there recently for WGME where I work. It’s a beautiful spot—right above Sabbathday Lake. So I thought I’d like to learn a little more about this homespun religion—Shaker-ism—but this book didn’t take me there.
The author, Suzanne Skees wrote in a first person narrative closer to memoir. She spent a long vacation living on the property in 1990-something. She shared her experience, but it wound up being as much about her as her hosts. Unfortunately, that did not hold my interest.
Shakers and their followers eschew sex, most material possessions and careers outside the church to keep and maintain the sizable farm property in New Gloucester, Maine. This allows them time and room psychologically to commit to their faith and form a deep bond with their God. This is the part I found most interesting in the book, but it was always interrupted by Skees inserting herself in the story, which became somewhat annoying and did not serve the best parts of the book. Ultimately, she was a spy in the house of love. A dabbler. Not an insider with deep understanding or truth to impart.
I guess I’ll have to look further to understand this unique religious community. My understanding from speaking with members the day I did my story there is that this Shaker Village in Maine is the last one in existence with full-fledged members. That’s why a book about it would be interesting, but not this book.
-Monty Orrick
May 2025
The author, Suzanne Skees wrote in a first person narrative closer to memoir. She spent a long vacation living on the property in 1990-something. She shared her experience, but it wound up being as much about her as her hosts. Unfortunately, that did not hold my interest.
Shakers and their followers eschew sex, most material possessions and careers outside the church to keep and maintain the sizable farm property in New Gloucester, Maine. This allows them time and room psychologically to commit to their faith and form a deep bond with their God. This is the part I found most interesting in the book, but it was always interrupted by Skees inserting herself in the story, which became somewhat annoying and did not serve the best parts of the book. Ultimately, she was a spy in the house of love. A dabbler. Not an insider with deep understanding or truth to impart.
I guess I’ll have to look further to understand this unique religious community. My understanding from speaking with members the day I did my story there is that this Shaker Village in Maine is the last one in existence with full-fledged members. That’s why a book about it would be interesting, but not this book.
-Monty Orrick
May 2025
November 17, 2019
I was amazed that Skees wrote so positively about Ann Lee. The woman stole a house (because God told her it should be hers), was against reading and writing, wanted people to abandon their families, be celibate and give their money to her. I see Ann Lee as a fairly typical cult leader, so Skees’ treatment of her was a surprise.
April 14, 2024
I have visited Sabbathday Lake a few times; it is a place of peace, (even though we once caught sight of Martha Stewart there!). The Shakers have had an influence on America far beyond their numbers (which are almost non-existent now, given that one of their faith tenets was celibacy). This is a good book.
January 21, 2013
I've been fascinated with the Shakers since 2001, when I visited the (no longer active) Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. A few years after that visit, I picked up this book by Suzanne Skees. She lived with the Shakers of Sabbathday Lake, the last active Shaker community in the United States. At the time of her visit, in the late 1990s, only eight Shakers remained. Now, there are only 3 or 4 Shakers remaining. Even Martha Stewart has visited the Shakers; check out this video: http://www.marthastewart.com/908784/s...
Two things that surprised me about Shaker life were 1) how much the greater community is involved at Sabbathday Lake and 2) how prosperous and industrious the Shakers are.
Skees conveys just how much the Shakers give up in order to fulfill their spiritual goals. Of course, to the Shakers, they aren't "giving up" anything.
This is a beautifully written book. Skees' words are poetry. This is one of my favorite passages:
It was not just sex Shakers give up: It was the standing power of one mature body next to another through the years and changes of a lifetime. It was the comforting presence of two lovers, side by side on the bed, through quiet or restless nights of life's twilight years. It was the familiar comfort of one wrinkled smile to another over the heads of doctors, beyond the reach of pills and heating pads, alongside the fear of decay and death. It was the tenderness with which one lover buried the lifeless remains of another, placing him down into the earth with hands lined with years of loving him, tending his grave with faithfulness that only one person in this world remembers.
Two things that surprised me about Shaker life were 1) how much the greater community is involved at Sabbathday Lake and 2) how prosperous and industrious the Shakers are.
Skees conveys just how much the Shakers give up in order to fulfill their spiritual goals. Of course, to the Shakers, they aren't "giving up" anything.
This is a beautifully written book. Skees' words are poetry. This is one of my favorite passages:
It was not just sex Shakers give up: It was the standing power of one mature body next to another through the years and changes of a lifetime. It was the comforting presence of two lovers, side by side on the bed, through quiet or restless nights of life's twilight years. It was the familiar comfort of one wrinkled smile to another over the heads of doctors, beyond the reach of pills and heating pads, alongside the fear of decay and death. It was the tenderness with which one lover buried the lifeless remains of another, placing him down into the earth with hands lined with years of loving him, tending his grave with faithfulness that only one person in this world remembers.
July 26, 2011
I read this about 10 years ago now, in two parts.
The author is a little effusive, but that's all right. She manages to share her beautiful experience visiting the Shakers; plus all her research on the sect, just fine. She made me want to visit, to go to Maine and attend a Shaker meeting. There are many things about the Shakers that I didn't know -- for instance, they haven't all died out. They have mellowed in the last century, opening Meetings to the public and all. They have quite a following.
I did think Skees dwelt a little too much on celibacy and how she couldn't possibly do without sex. That's kind of the typical worldly response, I guess. The Shakers response made me laugh, with their dismissal of that. I liked knowing that celibacy was not the most difficult part, but more likely the living in close community. But it was all beautiful -- especially "hands to work, hearts to God".
The author is a little effusive, but that's all right. She manages to share her beautiful experience visiting the Shakers; plus all her research on the sect, just fine. She made me want to visit, to go to Maine and attend a Shaker meeting. There are many things about the Shakers that I didn't know -- for instance, they haven't all died out. They have mellowed in the last century, opening Meetings to the public and all. They have quite a following.
I did think Skees dwelt a little too much on celibacy and how she couldn't possibly do without sex. That's kind of the typical worldly response, I guess. The Shakers response made me laugh, with their dismissal of that. I liked knowing that celibacy was not the most difficult part, but more likely the living in close community. But it was all beautiful -- especially "hands to work, hearts to God".
January 12, 2010
The voices of the remaining 8 Shakers in the world today were fascinating and thought provoking. They come across as truly beautiful, spiritual people. Skees was at her best when discussing the history and changes in Shaker communities. Where she failed rather badly was when she inserted her own life story into the narrative. Her repeated dwelling on why she could never be celibate was tedious and grating. In the end, it was worth plodding through to learn the story of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers.
March 24, 2013
Although I loved hearing the voices of the members of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community (Brothers Wayne and Arnold, Sister Frances), I really disliked this book. I couldn't help but feel that the narrator was pretending to be on a spiritual quest, when she was really trying to find a topic for a book (the Shakers) that will sell. She sought out sensational material, which she writes about even when she finds nothing: for example, witches and sexual organism. She seems proud of her own wealth and life style even when she tells the reader she's giving it up. I did not trust this narrator.l
June 25, 2018
Surprised to see that Skees had an MS from Harvard..the writing is poor quality.
The book is a history of the Shakers intertwined with the reflections and musings of the author.
Sadly, in this particular book, Susanne Skees is neither interesting as an individual nor engaging as a writer. Her maudlin self analysis frankly made my eyes glaze over.
Had she removed herself from the story and focused solely on the Shakers this book would have had significantly more staying power in my library.
The book is a history of the Shakers intertwined with the reflections and musings of the author.
Sadly, in this particular book, Susanne Skees is neither interesting as an individual nor engaging as a writer. Her maudlin self analysis frankly made my eyes glaze over.
Had she removed herself from the story and focused solely on the Shakers this book would have had significantly more staying power in my library.
Read
February 16, 2016Shaker life isn't the only way to salvation, and it's not the easiest or the quickest but for its followers who follow the three "C's" -- Community, Celibacy and Confession -- is has been the answer. Once numbering in the thousands, now to a handful, the Shakers made an impact on the individual, their communities and the nation. This memoir by Suanne Skees details her search for stillness and faith at Sabbathday Lake.
July 7, 2008
Loved the Shakers, not such a big fan of the author. I think she thought it was necessary to really educate us on who she was and where she was going in order to help us understand the Shakers. I do not think that was the case. The Shakers have more than enough personality and voice -- the juxtaposition with her private life just isn't necessary.
May 4, 2009
This could've been an interesting "history" of Shakerism and an introduction to the small collection of Shakers remaining at Sabbathday Lake. Instead, because of the author's ineptitude, it was an annoying foray into purple prose and repetition.
June 16, 2010
A research book for me. This is a story about a writer who goes to live with the present day Shakers in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Written in the late nineties. It helped me see the Shaker religion in a new light and how their beliefs softened somewhat and changed over the years. Nicely written.
December 20, 2007
I don't know how many Shakers are left, when I read this book there were only a handful. This book tells the story of a nearly extinct religion and way of life.
Read
September 23, 2009I got on a Shaker binger, after watching a PBS documentary on them this past weekend.
February 15, 2019
Skees authentically captures Shaker faith, it’s traditions, and a way of life so contrary to my own but powerfully resonant. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews