Lying Awake

Sister Mary Margaret is a Carmelite nun who experiences intense mystical visions while living in a monastery near Los Angeles. After years of spiritual drought, these ecstatic episodes lead her to produce acclaimed religious poetry and achieve a deep connection with God. When Sister Mary receives a medical diagnosis that could explain her visions, she faces a crisis of faith and identity. Her relationships with the other nuns in her small community become increasingly complex as she grapples with this revelation. The narrative follows Sister Mary's internal struggle as she weighs the meaning of her spiritual experiences against medical explanations, while continuing her duties at the monastery. Through her story, the reader gains insight into daily life within the contemplative religious order. The novel explores fundamental questions about faith, authenticity, and the nature of religious experience in the modern world. It examines the intersection of the spiritual and physical realms, raising questions about what constitutes true divine connection.

Readers describe this as a contemplative book that explores faith, doubt, and the nature of religious experience. Many note its spare, elegant writing style and deep examination of a nun's spiritual crisis. Readers appreciated: - The accurate portrayal of monastic life - The balance between medical and spiritual themes - Short length that still achieves emotional depth - Realistic characters and monastery dynamics Common criticisms: - Too slow-paced for some readers - Desire for more plot development - Some found the ending unsatisfying - Religious themes too heavy for secular readers Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (120+ reviews) Notable reader comments: "Beautiful meditation on faith without being preachy" - Goodreads reviewer "Like a long prose poem" - Amazon reviewer "Wanted more story and less internal reflection" - Goodreads reviewer "Perfect blend of science and spirituality" - LibraryThing reviewer

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🌟 Author Mark Salzman learned to meditate at age 13 and studied Zen Buddhism, giving him unique insight into Sister John's spiritual experiences. 📚 The book was inspired by the real-life case of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century nun whose intense religious visions may have been caused by migraines. ⚕️ Temporal lobe epilepsy, the condition Sister John faces in the novel, has been linked to intense religious experiences in multiple documented cases throughout history. 🏺 The Carmelite order, featured in the book, traces its origins to hermits living on Mount Carmel in Israel during the 12th and 13th centuries. 🖋️ Salzman wrote the entire novel in present tense to create an immediate, visceral connection between readers and Sister John's spiritual journey.