PILGRIM

In the wake of 9/11 and surviving a heart attack, former editor-in-chief of Parade magazine Lee Kravitz looks to religion to fill a void in his life and to help uncover the calm, joyful person he wanted to be.

Lee Kravitz is adrift—shaken deeply after 9/11 and the loss of his job, he begins to feel the pull toward rediscovering his spirituality. He faces resistance from his wife, who doesn’t understand why their family life can’t provide what he needs, but when he suffers what he thinks is a heart attack and calls out for God, Lee realizes he must take action. His journey takes him to many places—Quaker meetings, Catholic mass, and even sessions with an astrologer—and blends memoir, religion, and science, culminating in a narrative that speaks to the universal need to feel connected to the world around us. In documenting his quest to pursue a contemplative life for anyone who might find himself lost in the chaos of everyday existence and fit his religion-shaped needs into a secular mold, Lee offers a blueprint for anyone who might find himself lost at one point or another.

With forays into meditation, Quakerism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Protestantism, Judaism, and more, PILGRIM is an engrossing, thoughtful, and stirring guide for anyone searching for meaning. Kravitz’s introspective and warm writing style forays not only into his adventures exploring different areas of faith but also into the science of what God does to our brains, history, apocrypha, and more.

Lee Kravitz is the author of the widely acclaimed memoir Unfinished Business (Bloomsbury USA, 2010; I’m still confirming if he has any option publishers) and the former editor-in-chief of Parade magazine. Previously, he was founding editor of React Magazine and an editorial director of Scholastic Inc. Lee serves as the board president of Youth Communication. He lives with his wife and children in New York City and Clinton Corners, New York.