Review

“God Among the Shakers” is one of those books that I started three or four times, but never got around to finishing. It starts with promise, but I always found myself drifting about 100 pages in. This time out, however, I was determined to finish, and I’m so glad I did.

Suzanne Skees’ reflections on her extended visit to the last remaining Shaker community on Earth DOES meander a little toward chapters three and four where she rambles off down historical roads that are more academic than interesting, but she follows up the Social Studies lessons with some profound insights and moving observations.

This small, essentially heartfelt journey into Shaker country is sprinkled with love, carnality, the supernatural, and at nearly every turn… spirituality. The remaining eight Shakers are a communal people with surprising diversity. What unites them is a sense of the Divine, a sense of purpose, and a definitive calling. What is profound, and what ultimately struck me to the core is that the very same God who so clearly unites these people under one cause, is so very different to each of them. THAT is universal. That these people understand and APPRECIATE this diversity is perhaps what sets them apart.

Skees’ writing is at times self-indulgent, perhaps a little more personal than I’d care for, and occasionally even lacks logic. But it is often filled with startling truth, and these moments more than make up for the “human”-ness of everything else. “God Among the Shakers” is a contemplative, peaceful read, but not one without the ability to (dare I say?) SHAKE the soul… if you let it.