Julie Mars is the recipient of the NYS Council on the Arts Grant in Screenwriting, the NJ Council on the Arts Grant in Fiction, and the Cone Fellowship for Literary Criticism. She lives and teaches in Albuquerque, NM. Her novel, THE SECRET KEEPERS, was published by GreyCore in 2000.
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A Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection for May, June & July 2005
A nationally featured Borders "Mother's Day" selection
After learning that her beloved sister Shirley had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, writer Julie Mars knew exactly what she needed to do: pack up, leave the life she loved in New Mexico, and head directly to her sister, in upstate New York. Mars spent seven months at her sister's side, in the mysterious borderland between life and death—a time of intense sadness and unexpected beauty, great pain and even greater happiness.
When Mars finally returned to New Mexico to pick up the pieces of her own life, she was overtaken by an unexpected compulsion: she wanted to go to church. Having witnessed her sister’s spiritual turbulence—as well as her physical decline—Mars found herself immersed in spiritual questioning, and, at times, despair. And so she began her own pilgrimage—visiting thirty-one churches over a period of as many weeks—A Month of Sundays.
From the most traditional churches to houses of worship on the farthest fringe of mainstream life, Mars takes the reader on a journey that goes the distance—from grief to healing and beyond. But while the focus of this honest, evocative and beautifully written story is Mars' search for meaning and peace, it is also a laugh-out-loud, cry-out-loud memoir of two sisters whose lives cross at crucial moments—and not a page goes by that does not reveal some new insight into the beauty and wonder of the human heart.
Early Praise for Month of Sundays
"Beguiling... a work of stinging honesty that is difficult to put down."
--Jennifer Egan, LOOK AT ME
"Riveting... I swallowed this book in a single radiant gulp, and feel infinitely enriched for having done so. It has all the makings of a classic story of pilgrimage told with candor, humor and a sense of adventure."
-- Richard Selzer, LETTERS TO A YOUNG DOCTOR
"Uniquely authentic... The deep intuition with which Mars sought answers and the quiet listening to different spiritual world views were integrated in a most skillful manner. Her Sundays connect the dots of her relationship with her family and lead to a deeper interaction with death and life itself."
--Stephen Levine, UNATTENDED SORROW
"Beautiful, shining with pathos and humor, sung with unwavering honesty, calling us to consider what we continually deny—the problem of death and loss. Weaving together with elegance the anguish of losing her sister, the thirst for God, and the love that saves us all, Julie Mars has created an intensely interesting meditation on life's big issues… I was completely caught by it, laughing and crying by turns."
--Rocco Lo Bosco. BUDDHA WEPT
"A beautiful, enduring, and haunting journey. A salute to the connections women have with each other as sisters, friends, mothers, and daughters. Also, a celebration for the strength, and understanding they provide each other."
--Midwest Book Review
"What a treat! The themes of loss and longing that pervade the book will resonate with readers. I applaud the author for her warts-and-all frankness, without which the book would read like just another sentimental memoir. Hooray for Julie! That took guts."
--Carla Davis, Vegetarian Times
" I loved it. Her story is serene, heart warming, heart breaking, sad, funny, uplifting, and instructive. A beautiful story told by a gifted author. I will certainly recommend this book to our customers."
--Ann Holsman, Wisebird Bookery
"I loved traveling with Julie into churches I may never visit in this lifetime. Julie may or may not have found the spirit in her quest, but in this book she helps us all."
--RoundTableReviews.com
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