Iona Dreaming: The Healing Power of Place

by Clare Cooper Marcus

A journey of healing takes Clare Cooper Marcus on a 6-month long solitary retreat to the remote Scottish Island of Iona. Here she experiences a mirroring of her soul and reflects and reviews the life that brought her here to this magical place. Her compelling memoir Iona Dreaming is an inspirational account of personal survival and hope in which Clare shares her recovery from a life-threatening illness, which deepens into a contemplation of the events in her life and her physical, emotional and spiritual healing Clare Cooper Marcus brings both a personal and academic life-long interface with place, environment and people. Her five previous books about human response to architecture and environment were popular with the public and well-received by the press. Iona Dreaming will reach out to a broad people entering retirement, dealing with serious illnesses, gardeners, lovers of nature, architects and landscape architects, people who are becoming more heath conscious, women who have shared the social and cultural shifts she lived through--especially those coming of age in the 60's--and all those who seek a more authentic life.

Genres: Memoir, Spirituality

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an unadulterated joy for me, one of my favorite books ever! I was completely drawn in by Marcus's beautiful prose and her compelling memoir of retreating to the Isle of Iona to fully recover her health after two bouts of very serious cancer and after retiring from the academic life she had led for so many years, a life that defined and contained her. Portions of the book read like poetry. Her descriptions of the flora and fauna on the island are gorgeous. How she spent her days, from volunteering at a local hotel, to hiking the island, to sitting peacefully at her table having a cup of tea and watching the view, to attending workshop services at the abbey, to reminiscing about her childhood in England during the dark days of World War II ... brought me such a sense of peace to read. I can't remember reading too many other books where every single page was a delight. The language, the pacing of the memoir, the hopefulness of healing in the way she chose, the reflections on the restorative power of nature, the Jungian perspective and the deeply spiritual sense pervading the book were all deeply fulfilling to me. I should add that last year I visited Iona for a day, so the book returned me there and enriched my own understanding of the power of place. I would like to add that the author's cancers occurred in her 60s. She is now 84, and, I believe, still writing, consulting, and presenting workshops. A real treasure!!

[Dee Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably not the best use of my time late night on Iona, but I did enjoy passing her little getaway “Highland Cottage” a few times a day when I was there. Really moe about her than the healing power of place and frankly she’s not as interesting as she thinks.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure my enthusiasm is partially a result of my anticipated journey but I just loved this book!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

After stopping in at a local bookshop looking for an entirely different book, the title of this book jumped out at me. I visited the island of Iona with my husband many years ago and remember feeling an inexplicable deep connection to the embedded history in the ruins of the nunnery. Also, my great-grandmother, who I am said to resemble, was named Iona. If that was not enough to entice a purchase of this unknown quantity, the reading by the author scheduled for that very evening sealed the deal.

Although the selections read by the author were interesting and amusing, I wish I could say I loved the book. This memoir vividly describes the "place" of Iona, weaves in the authors experience with cancer and healing, alludes to her experiences as an academic in Berkeley, and reflects on her childhood in wartime England. While I found the childhood reflections compelling and some of the description of Iona and her garden in Berkeley very beautiful, I felt there was an annoying sense of long-winded self-indulgence that could have been tempered if the book had been condensed.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been to Iona, and am going back in a few months. I share the author's deep connection to the island. That's why I'm returning! This book would have garnered more stars from me, if all of Marcus's dream analyses and conversations with her therapist had been left out. The author went to Iona to reflect on her remission from cancer. Her descriptions of her day-to-day life there, over six months, were delightful! I hungered for more of that, instead of the repeated phone calls to the psychologist, or what kind of sandwich she took on her hike. Marcus describes parts of her childhood in England, and working years in Berkley, CA. Those anecdotes flowed well with the story of her time on Iona. The other stuff should have been left in a private diary on the nightstand. Marcus has a vast knowledge of the flowers and birds on Iona, and all the territory there. She has a great writing style, too. I'd like to read it again, and highlight just the parts about Iona so I can refer back to those details.

[Katrina Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in less than 24 hours, completely riveted. I know it had a lot to do with the synchronicities to my own life found within its pages: the author goes to Scotland for a retreat, and she is someone who has lived at Findhorn, works with her dreams, believes in the power of place, quotes James Hillman and Terry Tempest Williams, talks to fairies, observes the animals and land deeply, and is an artsy introvert.

But it's more than that. It's the way she dives into her past while vividly present to the land of Iona, a small island in Scotland which she calls her healing place. It's how she ties all of the threads of her life together into a revealing and intimate portrait of herself. It's the kind of writing I want to do, the kind of lifework I want to do.

I recommend it highly.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

How people relate to nature has always fascinated me, and the healing qualities of that relationship are one of my current passions, so I picked up this book with great anticipation. It's the memoir of a woman who went to Iona to reconnect with nature and self after surviving cancer. Unfortunately, it never really dove into the connection to place and to healing. The author's journey was one of personal reintegration, but I kept hoping for more than a recap of the night's dreams and how the imagery could be interpreted in light of Jungian theory. Don't get me wrong. I'm a sucker for a little Jungian theory, but I was hoping for a deeper exploration of the healing power of place. With that said, others may find a lot more here than I did.

[Hella]

Interessant verslag van een vrouw die na haar pensioen en na 2x kanker gehad te hebben naar Iona reist om zichzelf en een nieuwe levensrichting te vinden. Uiteindelijk een beetje langdradig door te veel info over haar verleden, niet echt boeiend. Toch wat waardevolle inzichten, vooral dat op de laatste bladzij: " ... if a place, a culture, an island keeps recurring in you dreams, appears unbidden in pensive moments, you can be sure it has something to tell you that you need to hear. Heeding the call, your life is changed."

[Sadelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just an exquisite read. I love how she wove her biographical and historical story in with BEING on the island of Iona. I felt as if I was there along with her, feeling and seeing and smelling everything. I bought this as it was recommended for an upcoming retreat I'm going to on the island, and of all the books about Iona I've read so far, this one stays with me, and I'm sure I'll be picking it up again.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting memoir. I'm traveling to Iona later this year, so was curious. But I think I learned more about the author and some really interesting things about dreamwork that I wasnt' expecting. Very reflective and healing look back on her life while living in a "thin place".

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found the author's childhood in wartime England very interesting, and I enjoyed reading about the early days of her extended stay on Iona, I had a hard time relating to her dreamwork self-analysis, which seemed to take up an inordinate amount of the book.

[Diane Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. One of my top ten on my list. The landscape description and the author's courage of telling her story.

[Gudrun Mouw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the book beautifully interlaces past and present so that I am left with a rich tapestry of experience in this lovely memoir.

[Linda Bodenlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful

Enjoyed the excellent writing and life reflection that so many if us can relate - mother,family,career, retirement, and illness. Finding happiness is a forever journey.

[Paula Younger]

Iona, the tiny little island off the north west coast of Scotland, is one of those magical places where the veil between the worlds is rather thinner than in most locations...after the last ferry for the day has departed and the day visitors have gone back to Mull or mainland Scotland, the island becomes an even more "spiritually woke" sort of place. This lovely guide helps explore some of the magical places and history of this sacred isle. If you've been lucky enough to visit Iona, it will help you relive your memories and relearn your lessons; if you've never visited, it may well just encourage you to go there. It's not a guidebook in the normal sense, but it does offer a chance to walk the lanes of the island, as it were.