Dr. Jeffries grew up in a charismatic, fundamentalist, evangelical church. Hers was a childhood of memorized Bible verses, youth groups, Halloween dramas on Heaven and Hell, and prophetic ministry.
As she went off to college, she discovered that the world was much bigger than the bubble she grew up in. She began to question some of the certainties she had heard as a kid. She discovered that some of the teachings she remembered just didn't make as much sense now that she was getting wider experiences.
Her penchant for discovery led her to a degree in cell biology and her world has bloomed outward since.
There were many aspects of Dr. Jeffries' life that I recognized. I too grew up in an evangelical church - however my experience was not as charismatic as hers. There were a number of examples that I couldn't not identify with nor agree with.
But that's not to say the evangelical church movement has caused great deal of pain to a number of people. In fact, there are too many aspects of the evangelical movement that I just don't recognize anymore.
With her exploration of cell biology, Dr. Jeffries discovers a new way to explain life and spirituality away from her fundamentalist upbringing.
I have to be honest; I found myself skipping large chunks of each chapter when she wrote about the details in her field of study. I understand that probably diminished my experience of the book, but each chapter followed the same formula: she would write about an experience with her church, then she would write about how amazingly complex our cells and its systems are, then she would tie in her new discoveries into her newfound spirituality and call it a kaleidoscope.
It seemed like, by the end of the book, Dr. Jeffries had embraced a kind of humanism mixed with reincarnation. But it wasn't quite clear to me.
It was encouraging to read of her reconciliation with her parents and that she was brave to sit down and discuss her evolution as she explores life.
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