Tamara Park wanted to test her beliefs about God outside the cloistered corner of her American upbringing. So she and a couple of friends flew to Rome and from there followed the footsteps of Helena, mother of the first Christian emperor of ancient Rome, on a meandering path to Jerusalem. Along the way, she sat on all sorts of benches and talked with all sorts of people about how they thought of God. As she conversed with nuns, spies and backpackers throughout the Balkans and Middle East, she discovered understandings of the sacred in the most unexpected of encounters. In her book you'll meet Muslims, Jews, Christians and agnostics in lands that have witnessed near-endless war, tumultuous political crises, economic stagnation and religious strife. You'll see God through the eyes of people whose lived experience is profoundly different yet surprisingly common. You'll see the world through the eyes of three pilgrims and get to know God--and yourself--a little better.… (more)