The Place of Knowing

An intriguing spiritual memoir from an unusual woman.Centered on Thaynes near-death experience following a car accident when she was in her 60s, this autobiographycontains thematic chapters that explore her changing beliefs about mortality through meditations on family, language andother daily concepts. As a Mormon grandmother, parts of Thaynes lifeher long marriage, religious devotion and largefamilyare seemingly typical for someone of her generation. However, Thayne is also a poet and writer, weaving manyof her poems and other writings into the body of this work. Often, Thayne describes the two roles of homemaker andauthor as being at odds with one another, at least within her own mind. In addition to her active, fulfilling involvement inthe Mormon Church, she characterizes her writing life as almost a personal struggle. In a major theme of the book,Thayne seeks to resolve the internal conflict she feels when torn between her vocation and her concerns about meetingoutside expectations. Interestingly, she addresses this internal conflict by looking both into her Mormon heritage and outtoward other spiritual traditions and lifestyles. Discussing her parents and grandparents, Thayne reveals their warmth andthe absence of doctrinaire beliefs in her childhood home. Her description of everyday Mormonism could be comparedto the womens Islam for Muslim writers like Fatima Mernissi and Leila Ahmed. However, in her search forenlightenment, Thayne isnt content merely focusing on previous generations of her own family. Instead, she visitshealers, helps bring to light the work of artists with AIDS and recognizes many influences from outside her owncommunity. As a result, shes a complex, evolving narrator, grappling slowly with her own expectations and thechallenges of life. Her meditative, fluid narrative might not satisfy readers looking for an eventful, action-oriented story,but readers interested in the optimistic pursuit of spiritual development shouldnt miss this one.Gentle, inclusive ruminations sure to strike a chord.