Lying Awake by Mark Salzman

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman
Audio Book Review
Narrated by Linda Stephens
4 hours and 22 minutes

Sister John of the Cross has been having visions from God.  She is a spiritual leader and writer in her cloister community in Los Angeles and has been living in this monastery for a long time.  Along with her visions she is starting to have horrible, paralyzingly painful headaches.  Mother Emmanuel encourages her to seek medical treatment after she passes out during prayer.  The doctor finds something in her brain causing her headaches and wants to do surgery.  Sister John isn't sure what to do and is worried that she will lose her spiritual gifts.

I listened to this as an audio even though I own a copy of the book.  I am disappointed I didn't read the book because the audio was hard to follow and kept jumping back and forth throughout time.  Novels told in multiple time periods aren't good choices for audio books for me.  The storyline is intriguing and interesting but I was lost in a couple of places.  The narrator was OK .  When paging through the actual hardcover copy, I noticed chapter titles and illustrations that would enhance the reading experience.

Lying Awake really gives you an insight into the monastic life of a nun.
My verdict; read it.  Don't listen to it.