‘In Pursuit of Enlightenment’: Author still seeking enlightenment by end of book

Stephanie Rivera recounts the story of her family in 'In Pursuit of Enlightenment (on a shoestring budget)” (FriesenPress, 149 pages, $14.99). The author, who resides in Fairfield, traces her family's frequent moves, financial challenges, and explorations of faith. The portrait is a fond one, though Rivera is honest about what she considers her father's shortcomings.

Much of the book is a fairly standard recounting of a family's life over time. Rivera's life has included some noteworthy incidents - for example, her family was living in Hawaii when the Pearl Harbor was attacked - but by and large, 'In Pursuit of Enlightenment” is a straightforward story of a family that possessed far more love than financial resources.

Certainly, religious thought is a recurring theme. Rivera's father was an unorthodox clergyman steeped in transcendentalism and related movements. She writes of her family's belief that she had a strong ability to 'demonstrate,” meaning, according to the Science of Mind doctrine, she could materialize her desires.

But it isn't until late in the book - after her father's death - that the family is introduced to Transcendental Meditation. In the books closing pages, the tone shifts from memoir to spiritual text, and the focus shifts to Rivera's brother, Greg, who is present in mostly tangential ways throughout the rest of the book. The shift is jarring, but it soon becomes clear this is where Rivera has been taking us all along.

Some of Greg's own writing is included at the end of the book, and he describes his experience of Cosmic Consciousness. For her part, Rivera writes she still is seeking such a state. She suggests her father's quest for understanding laid the groundwork for her own.