Feathers from the Flame

B>Spiritual discovery, emotional healing, and the nature of consciousness surface through a past-life regression into Hildegard of Bingen's complicated twelfth century. Through the contemporaneous therapeutic sessions of the protagonist Laura as she is hypnotized into the person of Clothilde, the mystical, visionary world of Hildegard of Bingen is cleverly revealed by the author. (Dr Eileen Guenther, Professor Emerita of Church Music at Wesley Theological Seminary),

Although initially distrusting past-life regression, Laura agrees and meets her twelfth-century self in Clothilde. She discovers a surprising complexity of life and rigid expectations for a daughter in the nobility. After going to live with her future mother-in-law, Clothilde accompanies her to Disibodenburg, a double monastery, and first hears Hildegard of Bingen's stunningly beautiful music.

Laura's ensuing research reveals that Hildegard indeed existed. While living inside convent walls, Hildegard composed music (still performed), wrote nine major works (still available), healed the sick, corresponded with kings and popes throughout Europe (including Frederick Barbarossa, Henry II, and Eleanor of Aquitaine), traveled to preach before male audiences at cathedrals and monasteries, and founded two convents.

Subsequent hypnotherapy sessions reveal the difficulty of both Clothilde's and Hildegard's life. Clothilde loses a fianc? in the Second Crusade, falls in love with a Jew but is forced to marry a churlish bully, manages a manor with the intricacy of a small town, and values respites to Bingen for healing and copying much of Hildegard's copious correspondence. Laura observes their courageous resourcefulness while enduring their own private pains and difficult relationships. Clothilde also hides a secret that propels her to fiercely protect her family. Her other experiences, however, lead Laura to the root of her greatest fear. Fans of Outlander, Pillars of the Earth, Frozen River and the Brother Cadfael series will savor this stimulating story.