I am ashamed to admit that I let all the negative talk about [a:Shirley Maclaine|63879|Shirley Maclaine|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1191883219p2/63879.jpg] being a "woo-woo" writer influence my choice of whether or not to read her books. But when all her books fell into my lap recently, I decided to give it a whirl. And I'm so glad I did! She is a wonderful writer! She shares her inner journey, without sounding to self-centered, in part because she blends her epiphanies so beautifully with her travels and experiences outside of herself.

It's wonderful to watch her grow and expand as she branches out beyond Hollywood, into more "exotic" lands like Japan, Africa and Bhutan. I felt like I was with her in every country and her passion for supporting her fellow human beings was very moving. She is not the kind of Hollywood actor who shows up in a Masai village in Africa and immediately makes it about herself, or worse, tries to "rescue" them from their own culture. She is totally respectful of every culture she encounters and describes her experiences with a wonderful, detailed depth. I hear that her later books, in which she shares more of her "new age" spiritual journey are not as good as her first book, so we will see. The infamous [b:Out on a Limb|110349|Out on a Limb|Shirley Maclaine|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171636705s/110349.jpg|106364] is next in my stack!