Desire, Mystery, and Belonging

by Sarah Flick, Jennifer Louden (Foreword)

Written as a spiritual memoir by Houston-based psychiatrist and spiritual director Sarah Robinson Flick, this beautiful new book explores how desire, mystery, and belonging interplay to help us create a meaningful life. In each of our lives, as we pursue our deepest desires, we inevitably encounter mystery and hardship. It is belonging-to family, to friends, and to community-that supports us through our journeys. In a series of vignettes, Sarah examines how the interplay of these elements have affected her, and in doing so, asks us to reflect on our own experiences. "What a marvelous treasure you hold in your hands, an intimate guide to desire, mystery, and belonging, three qualities we all need to live a life of meaning, beauty, and presence. ... Sarah is one of the most generous and trustworthy people I know, and this book is built from, and infused with, her lifelong exploration of the inner life, the communal life, of mental illness and mental health, of the religious life, and the call to create and be heard. You can trust her as your guide. Every word in this book has been placed there with great care. What can you hope to learn from Sarah? Or why read this book? Don’t you find the best books defy tidy summaries and instead change how you see yourself and the world? This book does that, through story, through vulnerability, by embracing desire, and by doing so, it takes you into the mystery of this moment, and to knowing, with your whole being, you belong and always have." – Jennifer Louden, Best-Selling Author

*ADVANCE PRAISE for DESIRE, MYSTERY, AND BELONGING*

"For roughly 25 years, neuroscientists and theologians have been working together to explore and to ascertain whether the brain is the instigator or receiver of how individuals express deep feelings and experience religious beliefs. In this wonderful book, Sarah Flick brings together a lifetime of insights that changed her perspectives and practices as a clinical psychiatrist and compassionate spiritual director. Desire, Mystery, and Belonging illuminates heartfelt reflections that invite us to energize mind and soul. Dr. Flick invites all of us to contemplate what really matters, what ultimately embodies and distinguishes us as human beings on life’s journey." – W. Andrew Achenbaum, Professor Emeritus, Consortium on Aging, Texas Medical Center "Sarah’s storytelling is a tender, immersive expression of deeply soulful reflections. The invitation is right in front of us; Desire, Mystery, and Belonging leads us into fully realized experiences of presence and honoring. Sarah is a skilled observer and life traveler, and she lights the way here with a generous and compelling narrative through her life that leads us home to our own sense of self. Done with love, compassion, and an invitation to trust in our own deep knowing, Desire, Mystery, and Belonging is a treasure of a book!" – Sonya Joy, Writer, Photographer, www.wildluminary.com "With profound clarity and warmth, Sarah Flick welcomes us into a nourishing exploration of the intersections of desire, mystery, and belonging in our own lives. I relished the storytelling in this book, feeling simultaneously entertained and deeply encouraged to understand my own path in this new, glorious light. Reading it felt like spending time with a friend discussing the mysteries of life in a way that was both really approachable and also soul nourishing. I found myself laughing and crying along with the words and nodding my head as I recounted the stories as I was navigating the rest of my daily life. This book is a must read for anyone hungry to live in greater alignment with their spirit and deep yearnings." – Mara Glatzel, author of upcoming The Path from Self-Abandonment to Self-Partnership (Sounds True, 2023), www.maraglatzel.com

220 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2022

Reviews

[Sally]

Sarah's writing is honest and inspiring. She invites us inside her soul with her treasured memories, experiences, and personal struggles. She is us, but she had the courage to be vulnerable enough to commit her story to words. Thank you, Sarah, for a wonderful read.

[Grace]

This book is a candid, deeply personal book about how the author looked at the key people and events of her life, the high and low moments, and identified three core threads - Desire, Mystery and Belonging. The book won’t give the reader five ways to find the meaning of Life, or ten steps to identifying your purpose, but it provides an heartfelt example, full of hope, of how treasures can be found in our lives which otherwise often seem so subject to randomness and chance. I appreciate a good adventure and, for me, that is what this book is about. Written with heart, I found it touched mine and gave me a new view of my own life.

[Cathie]

I struggled with this one. I was very sad that I missed the women's retreat sponsored by our church that featured this author. I heard later that she is a wonderful speaker and the retreat was well-attended and well-received. I think this might be a case like a book we read for a church study that had accompanying video-taped lectures by the author - I found the book very dry but the lectures were great and I loved them.

I enjoyed all the stories of the author's life and how she found grace but I couldn't figure out how to apply any of it to my own life.

[Charlotte Murphy]

I recently heard about this book from a friend who knew I love to read personal essays, mixed with a lot of great life advise. This book did not disappoint. The writers style makes it very easy to keep turning the pages, and the stories, mingled with her medical background in psychology, made this a really endearing and entertaining book. I highly recommend it. Written in the same vein as Brene Brown with a lot of warmth and personal wisdom.