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Geography of Heaven by Rory MacLean
From an ashram in India to an ayahuasca ceremony in Peru, a travel writer searches for meaning after the death of his wife
TL;DR
- Rory MacLean's book is a grief memoir and travelogue detailing his search for meaning after his wife Katrin's death.
- He visits over a dozen sacred locations worldwide, including Jerusalem, an Indian ashram, and Peru, seeking 'thin places' where the veil between worlds is porous.
- MacLean's travels involve immersive experiences, such as infiltrating an Israeli settlement, facing a tornado, and participating in a Vipassanā retreat and ayahuasca ceremony.
- The book showcases MacLean's skills as a travel writer with vivid descriptions of various locations and cultural practices.
- Despite some jarring tonal shifts and outdated language, the memoir thoughtfully discusses Victorian spiritualism and AI's role in grief.
- MacLean fixates on numerology and compiles anecdotal evidence to prove his wife's soul lives on, but the book's pattern involves initial disappointment followed by vague breakthroughs.
- The central realization is that the journey, not the destination, is what matters.