The Green Desert: A Silent Retreat

By Rita Winters

The story of one burned-out advertising executive's silent retreat in the Sonoran desert, this heartfelt diary of 15 days in the desert chronicles her inner journey from a comfortable life to starting over in midlife.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824521331
• ISBN13: 9780824521332
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

The Rare, Longed-for Gift of Peace

Unreligious types, like me, will like this book because it's an intelligent, capable, competent, worldly, successful person's quest. Winters is not looking for miracles or excuses for why something hasn't worked out. She has made choices, as we all do, and assumes responsibility for them, right or wrong. There is none of this "hand over your life to (diety or organization of your choice) and everything will be okay." If only it were that easy! Her prayers articulate what must be universal wishes and anxieties, even for those of us who don't formally pray. They are so honest, unpretentious and revealing--I often felt as if I had "walked in at the wrong time." But they are so relevant, "useful" even, they are a source of solace all by themselves. Winters' guilt and confusion about choices she's made have a universal (the details don't matter) resonance, as do her regrets about actions that might not always be ideal for her children but she took them anyway. I don't know if it was her intention, but Winters' fluid writing, and ability to communicate her experience at the retreat, is often hypnotic. For those of us who would never think of going to a silent, religious retreat in the desert, this book saves us from missing out--the author made me feel the peace that she herself was seeking. That is a gift, in every sense.

An Experience of Solitude

I found Ms. Winters journal compelling. I, like many women, am entirely too busy serving others, both at my job and in my family. As I read Winters' experience in the desert, I found myself feeling a depth of solitude that was rich and unusual. I felt humbled by the reading, in a healthy way. This humility stemmed from an appreciation of the spirituality that silence and a desert surrounding can offer, as well as the incredible breadth of Winters' reading in the two-week period. I felt that I could clearly visualize the setting, as I walked through her experiences. The contrast with the business of life in her "other world" was so vivid. And Winters' interaction with Fr. John Kane was so very refreshing, both in his profound spirituality and his support of her work and human frailties. Finally, the prayers are so insightful for so many of us who struggle with finding God's approval and voice in our way-too- busy daily lives. It is a marvelous opportunity to reflect on what each of us is truly committed to on this earth.

Revealing and Insightful

Rita Winters' insightful, clear perspective on a modern life really struck a chord with me. So many of us have been down a similar path without the opportunity to reflect or means of integrating the results into our lives. Her writing is easy to pick up and has much to give the reader.