Stark Raving Zen: A Memoir of Coming Alive

Stark Raving Zen is the story of how one woman came home to her soul on a road trip from Minnesota to California, a journey both terrifying and beautiful. Her only physical companion through each stage of this sudden awakening was her dog, Arya, who kept her grounded through shocking revelations, heavenly and hellish visionary experiences, and an intuitive opening including a voice in her left ear that guided her, working to keep her safe as her mind unraveled.

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This heroine’s journey is also the story of Kristy Sweetland’s life, including a childhood and young adulthood of trying to desperately control a chaotic family history filled with a parental legacy of addiction and mental illness that kept her psyche locked in a perpetual state of survival.

After an outwardly successful career in the field of veterinary medicine, (while inwardly falling apart), she finally hit the wall, left her twenty-year profession, loaded Arya into her car and headed southwest on what she thought was a trip to see a mentor and counselor in California. As it turns out her soul had wildly different plans. This riveting true story of a road trip filled with benevolent ghosts and gods, angels, demons, monsters, mythology, and guiding voices will keep the reader glued to the page for the duration. Through the volcanic gift of those ten days on the road in January of 2009, Kristy broke through her own chains forged of trauma, and finally came alive.

Winner of the 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Award (NIEA) in the Spiritual Category

2020 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Award Winner in the Non-fiction Spiritual/Supernatural Category

“Sensing her mental well-being unraveling, a woman embarks on a road trip that proves to be a mind-expanding voyage of spiritual discovery in this memoir…those open to ideas of mediums and the existence of higher dimensions should find this book enthralling. A bold, if occasionally terrifying, personal account of spiritual transformation.” — Kirkus Reviews

In Stark Raving Zen, “Sweetland (The Fascinated Observer) recounts in this gripping memoir the “spontaneous shamanic initiation” she experienced during a road trip from Minnesota to New Mexico…her writing conveys the joy and terror of mystical experience. Sweetland’s surrender to unbidden visions will appeal to believers in mediums and channeled wisdom.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Author Kristy Sweetland delivers a masterful and emotive work that combines some very powerful and fascinating out-of-the-ordinary experiences with a reflective look at life, psychological trauma, and how we all have the strength and capacity to rise up and change.”– Reader’s Favorite (5-Star Review)

“A uniquely powerful and thought-provoking read, Stark Raving Zen: A Memoir of Coming Alive speaks directly to those who find their lives sapped of meaning. A highly accessible account of spiritual enlightenment with broad appeal, Stark Raving Zen: A Memoir of Coming Alive is certainly deserving of your attention and is strongly recommended.” — BookViral Reviews