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Confessions of Madame Psyche
This 1987 American Book Award Winner follows the story of the young Mei-li Murrow who is dubbed “Madame Psyche” after she accidentally predicts the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Although she wins fame and fortune, Mei-li seeks a truer spirituality, and embarks on a pilgrimage that takes her to the death-soaked Europe of the First World War, to a utopian commune in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the 1920s, to the Depression-era migrant work camps and cannery strikes, and finally to the Napa State Hospital, where she finds wisdom and peace among the outcasts of the asylum.
Mei-li’s modern-day epic is grounded in the history of Northern California in the first half of the twentieth century and peopled by comrades of many classes and cultures and by lovers both male and female. Yet her central odyssey remains one of inner discovery.
In Confessions of Madame Psyche , Dorothy Bryant has created a character who is so honest in her search for truth, growth, and spiritual understanding that this quest becomes inherent to her survival.
Mei-li’s modern-day epic is grounded in the history of Northern California in the first half of the twentieth century and peopled by comrades of many classes and cultures and by lovers both male and female. Yet her central odyssey remains one of inner discovery.
In Confessions of Madame Psyche , Dorothy Bryant has created a character who is so honest in her search for truth, growth, and spiritual understanding that this quest becomes inherent to her survival.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Dorothy Bryant
16 books37 followersDorothy Bryant was born in San Francisco in 1930, second daughter of Joe and Giuditta Calvetti, both born in Balangero, a factory town near Turin, Italy, and brought to the United States as children. Bryant became the first in her family to graduate from college, and she earned her living teaching (high school and college) until 1976. She began writing in 1960 and has since published a dozen books of fiction and non-fiction. Her plays have been performed in the Bay Area and beyond.
Bryant is known for her mystical, feminist and fantastic novels and plays that traverse the space between the real world and her character's inner psyche or soul. Her book The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You was described by Alice Walker as "One of my favorite books in all the world".
Bryant is known for her mystical, feminist and fantastic novels and plays that traverse the space between the real world and her character's inner psyche or soul. Her book The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You was described by Alice Walker as "One of my favorite books in all the world".
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 3, 2011
This is one of my favorite books! The premise of the book as a factual memoir is completely believable and I had to look many times at the "This is a work of fiction..." citation to be reminded that it was truly a novel and not a memoir. I'm fascinated by the premise that someone can be institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital on the say-so of a more powerful person. Mei makes the best of every situation she is in, and the twists and turns of her life are well laid out in this memoir!
June 13, 2011
Award-winning novel is a magical fusion of spirituality and history
This 1987 American Book Award Winner by Dorothy A. Bryant masterfully blends the narrator's spiritual journey through the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, WWI in Europe, the Great Depression as a laborer and union organizer in California, and WWII from a pacifist's perspective, until she finally discovers spiritual peace in a psychiatric hospital.
Spiritual/metaphysical content: High. About ten pages into the 1919 - 1926 section, Bryant describes a spiritual experience, probably her own, in achingly vivid prose. She ends by stating that "I never saw it as a temporary flight from reality. It was the opposite, an experience of hidden reality which I have never doubted." That singular event is the string upon which the remainder of the narrator's life experiences are threaded. From founding a commune in the redwoods to choosing to live at an asylum, every action she takes is aimed at coming to terms with that event. Although her metaphysical encounter differed vastly from my own, her half-page description of that singular event rang true for me; she was writing from her soul.
My take: Dorothy Bryant's remarkable research into the history of spiritualism and psychology in the first half of the twentieth century, blended with her extraordinary metaphysical insight, made this book an instant classic for me. At once both epic and intensely personal, the story illustrates how difficult it is to realizes one's full spiritual potential, even if we are lucky enough to realize what that potential is and have the resources and the discipline to reach for it.
For more reviews of new age novels, see Fiction For A New Age.
This 1987 American Book Award Winner by Dorothy A. Bryant masterfully blends the narrator's spiritual journey through the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, WWI in Europe, the Great Depression as a laborer and union organizer in California, and WWII from a pacifist's perspective, until she finally discovers spiritual peace in a psychiatric hospital.
Spiritual/metaphysical content: High. About ten pages into the 1919 - 1926 section, Bryant describes a spiritual experience, probably her own, in achingly vivid prose. She ends by stating that "I never saw it as a temporary flight from reality. It was the opposite, an experience of hidden reality which I have never doubted." That singular event is the string upon which the remainder of the narrator's life experiences are threaded. From founding a commune in the redwoods to choosing to live at an asylum, every action she takes is aimed at coming to terms with that event. Although her metaphysical encounter differed vastly from my own, her half-page description of that singular event rang true for me; she was writing from her soul.
My take: Dorothy Bryant's remarkable research into the history of spiritualism and psychology in the first half of the twentieth century, blended with her extraordinary metaphysical insight, made this book an instant classic for me. At once both epic and intensely personal, the story illustrates how difficult it is to realizes one's full spiritual potential, even if we are lucky enough to realize what that potential is and have the resources and the discipline to reach for it.
For more reviews of new age novels, see Fiction For A New Age.
February 4, 2021
A realistic look of an unusual life from a fictional character.
The entire time I was reading this book I thought Mei-Li was a real person. Even after learning the work is fiction- I still feel like I was transported in time and space to witness a complicated and yet very real life. The author seemed to capture the humanity of the dark side of American History; poverty, hunger, race, religion, immigration, disaster, betrayal, mental illness...the list goes on an on and as if a naturally unfolding life of the main character Mei-Ali. It left me full and fulfilled as well as touched. Incredibly written to make you believe it is a true story.
The entire time I was reading this book I thought Mei-Li was a real person. Even after learning the work is fiction- I still feel like I was transported in time and space to witness a complicated and yet very real life. The author seemed to capture the humanity of the dark side of American History; poverty, hunger, race, religion, immigration, disaster, betrayal, mental illness...the list goes on an on and as if a naturally unfolding life of the main character Mei-Ali. It left me full and fulfilled as well as touched. Incredibly written to make you believe it is a true story.
June 27, 2012
This is one of my favorite books ever! It took me YEARS to find the title again! I am so excited - I am going to have to read it again!
September 5, 2015
amazing! One of my all time favourite reads. I haven't seen it or read it for at least 15 years and just stumbled across it on a Goodreads list.
September 4, 2021
Content/storyline great but …..
This book was almost too difficult to read because of the need of a good proof read. There were an incredible number of misspelled words, typos galore, some so bad that it was difficult to figure out what the word was supposed be! I’ve never read an Amazon book in such bad shape. What an insult to the author that this was made into a ebook without any proofing before release. Shameful.
This book was almost too difficult to read because of the need of a good proof read. There were an incredible number of misspelled words, typos galore, some so bad that it was difficult to figure out what the word was supposed be! I’ve never read an Amazon book in such bad shape. What an insult to the author that this was made into a ebook without any proofing before release. Shameful.
July 23, 2019
I can appreciate the epic sweep of this novel, and the San Francisco stuff was very interesting. But boy did this move slow for me. I don't expect every book I read to be a page-turner but two months is a long time to complete a book. I was determined to finish, and I'm glad I did, but the last third was really depressing and overly drawn out.
October 11, 2020
A very long book about a long and complicated life beginning in the early 1900's in San Francisco and beyond the Bay Area. The character was so tangled up in many disparate incidents and never stood up for herself, or removed herself from difficult situations. The plot is all over the place.
July 10, 2019
I appreciated the concept, but the content was a bit mundane.
December 10, 2009
I read it in a book group. We argued for a long time whether or not it was true. It is one of my all-time favorite books. It was all set in locations we knew well (except for the mental institution).
October 18, 2016
I happened upon this book while I was at a spiritual retreat many years ago. It was a lovely place in New Mexico. This book has fascinated me ever since. For some unexplained reason, I just love the story of this woman's life. Very detailed and interesting.
January 24, 2008
Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!
October 7, 2011
A little known book but amazing. What if you're a child raised to believe you're a psychic. How go you come to term with who you are and heal?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews