God through Binoculars: A Hitchhiker at a Monastery, is available now from Amazon and also directly from the publisher
"God Through Binoculars blew me away. Goska
has written a truly unique and remarkable work – gripping, tragic, eclectic,
powerful, and empowering."
Rabbi Dr.
Natan Slifkin, Director, The Biblical Museum of Natural History, author,
"The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom"
"A witty, provocative, and thoroughly
engaging memoir about the difficulties of faith, the complexities of love, and
the consolations often found in nature. Whether she's writing about hyenas or
jihad, hitchhiking or the perils of political correctness, Goska is always
interesting. I loved this book!"
Daiva
Markelis, author of "White Field, Black Sheep"
"As unsparing as it is tender, this book is a
high-octane lyric meditation by a larger-than-life soul. Amid a multitude of
coincidences, controversies, and calamities, the reader is invited to laugh,
grieve, ponder, take exception, and especially, take heart."
Claire
Bateman, author "Locals: A Collection of Prose Poems" NEA grant
recipient
"The great books about spiritual journeys never
give you easy answers. They don't say 'Do these 10 things and you will find
peace or faith or salvation.' Goska
knows this truth. She has lived this truth. As you read her beautifully
written, witty, and inspiring book, you will find yourself not only following
her journey, you will find yourself living your own journey."
John
Guzlowski, author of "Echoes of Tattered Tongues" Montaigne Medal
recipient
"An effortlessly wise voyage, not only into
the human soul but also into some fundamentals of the Western tradition. Goska
is a formidable writer, who combines sensitivity and kindness with
extraordinary toughness, and her vigorous prose reflects this unusual
combination. Her prose grabs you and does not let you go."
Dario
Fernández-Morera, author, "The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise"
Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and
Comparative Literature, Northwestern University
"This is a moving, inspiring, heartfelt
expression of love, pain, and healing, skillfully written with equal amounts of
grace and compassion."
Larry
Dossey, MD, author "One Mind"
"Impossible to put down. Goska is a true original, a gifted writer and
an even more gifted spiritual explorer. Her previous book 'Save, Send, Delete,'
like this one, displays a remarkable range of philosophical and religious
knowledge, accompanied by profound insights that will stay with a reader long
after they are encountered. Goska has packed more experience into each one of
her years on this earth than most of us will in a lifetime. I urge you to give
a look at this irresistible journey of faith in search of answers."
David
Horowitz, "Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey"
Charles Ades Fishman, winner, 2012 New
Millenium Award for Poetry
"Goska reminds every birder and nature lover
that they are connected spiritually to the birds they see and the experiences
they have outdoors. Our souls and hearts are refreshed and renewed by allowing
ourselves to understand in some small way that we are connected to something in
nature that is ancient and forever."
Don Torino,
Naturalist for Wild Birds Unlimited and President, Bergen County Audubon
Society
"I read 'God through Binoculars' the way I
read everything that I am enjoying or that interests me, at increasingly
breakneck speed. I finished it this morning and plan to begin again, reading
more slowly and thoroughly for the subtler bits. The two writers this book
reminded me of most were Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. They also have an
edginess and a sense of putting themselves out there without giving a damn what
others think."
Julie Davis,
author of "The Happy Catholic"
"Goska is a walker, an observer, a thinker.
This pilgrimage-in-a-book reminds me of Paolo Coelho in its thrust and scope.
But Coelho merely walked the camino – Goska walks the byways of the world, from
rural Virginia to the wildernesses of Asia. Always questioning, always seeking,
Goska shows us the profound in every living being, from hyenas to humans. If
you are willing to accompany her on this journey, you will be changed
yourself."
Brian Ó
Broin, author of Thógamar le Gaeilge
Iad, Professor of Linguistics and Medieval Literature, WPUNJ
"'God through Binoculars' is … complicated,
just like the natural world Goska so compellingly describes; just like the
spiritual insights she gleans from her own well-traveled life, marked by random
encounters that may not be all that random. She is a committed monotheist who
believes in evolution, but expresses annoyance with Darwinist absolutes. She is
awed by Mother Nature, but recognizes the random cruelties that play out within
the wilderness. Through her binoculars, she observes a world constantly in flux
– shaped and reshaped by variables that somehow work together in unbelievable
complexity. Because of that complexity, she is skeptical about any 'straight-line'
redemption of life's disappointments by an all-loving God. Yet she believes
that God is indeed all-loving, that her own burdens might not be lifted, but
can be transmuted into blessings. If she can believe that, maybe even the
greatest skeptics among us can, too."
Melanie
Forde, author of "Hillwilla" and "On the Hillwilla Road"
"An inspiring and inspired read by one who has
long since heard the music."
Kevin Di
Camillo, author of "Now Chiefly Poetical," columnist at National
Catholic Register
"Goska is brilliant with words, painting
highly evocative pictures. She's unafraid to explore emotional, spiritual, and
philosophical frontiers. She's been all over the world, learning about cultures
from the inside. This book brings these gifts and experiences to bear on a
personal journey to a place few readers know."
Karen A.
Wyle, author, "Twin Bred"
Edward "Rusty"
Walker, author of "Transparent Watercolor: How to Use the Direct
Method to Achieve Radiantly Clear Color and Translucency in Your Paintings"
"Amazing. Ordinary situations brought to
life. Observant, with a real wit. A pleasure to read!"
Brian Koral,
blog reader
"A masterpiece. I couldn't put it down. Goska
has an incisive mind, an insatiable curiosity, and a captivating writing style.
As a veterinarian, I particularly appreciated her colorful and informative
writing about the animals she has encountered in her adventurous life."
Dr. Morton
A. Goldberg, Veterinarian and Project Gutenberg volunteer
"C.S. Lewis wrote in his great novel 'Perelandra'
that though 'there seemed to be, and indeed were, a thousand roads by which a
man could walk through the world, there was not a single one which did not lead
sooner or later either to the Beatific or the Miserific Vision.' Goska is a
pilgrim walking the roads of this world and trying her best to follow the
Spirit as he leads her at each fork in the road toward that 'one Face above all
worlds which merely to see is irrevocable joy.'"
Mark P.
Shea, Author, "By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic
Tradition"
"Goska is a true wordsmith, a writer you
enjoy reading for the prose as well as the imagination and education. Moving
from thought to thought and scene to scene in no obvious order, you later
realize the grand plan underneath it all, the coherent worldview that shapes
how she appraises her fascinating experiences. And unlike secular writers of
similar works, she is able not only to be romantic about life's rich variety,
but to ground it in the good God of revelation. That combination of orthodox
faith, humorous observations of eccentric people and moments, and practical
philosophy is rare in contemporary writing."
The Rev.
Evan McClanahan
Sin Boldly Podcast
"You catch a monkey, they say, with trinkets
in a wide-bottomed, narrow-necked vase. The monkey inserts his paw, and opens
it up to capture his treasure. When he tries to withdraw his fist, he can
either hold on to the trinkets or let them go and free himself.
Jesus invited, 'Leave everything you have, and
follow me!' That might seem fairly easy for a pilgrim who can't afford her own
car. But even the poor must surrender.
Goska's monastery journey is a meditation on the
deliberate opening of hands. With the slow freeing of each finger, another
trinket is jettisoned and a new perspective is revealed. Nature provides her
window to the divine: indigenous fruit, a hawk's soar, and being arrested by an
unlikely savior. This hero's journey ends where she began, but as a new person,
with a new vision.
Goska is a bold spirit who has fine-tuned her soul
to encounter grace in unlikely places. In the spirit of Flannery O'Connor, as
well as the Beats, she is wonderfully refreshing. Her sensitivity to God's
possibilities is awe-inspiring. Step beyond predictability and embrace one heck
of a ride!"
Deacon
Kevin McCormack, host, WABC radio, "Religion on the Line," Xavier
High School principal, adjunct professor of theology at Molly College
"'God Through Binoculars' is a mesmerizing
book. The primary narrative concerns the author's visit to a monastery, but
this is interspersed with reflections on the habits of hyenas, the spiritual
defects of Meso-American art (Goska seems to like the hyenas better), the
Holocaust, and a host of other subjects. The satirical account of her visit to
the monastery makes the book worth reading all by itself. Fierce, hard-won,
deep-rooted piety breathes through the snark. In an age of cutesy, feel-good
memoirs with easy answers, this is the real thing – a book that brings you in
touch with the restless, passionate intelligence of its author and forces you
to think in a fresh way about every one of the many subjects it addresses."
Edwin
Woodruff Tait, writer, farmer, and consulting editor for Christian History
magazine.
"Goska dares to ask the universally elusive
questions: will any deity or doctrine fully suffice in this life? Is the duel
beauty and brutality of nature and human interaction alone enough to fill our
spiritual reservoirs? In examining the mysterious trifecta of God, the natural
world and human industry, Goska illustrates how a truly benevolent God would
want us to experience the brutality of life along with the transcendence of
beauty. Time and again her words illuminate the agony AND the ecstasy of this
life that ultimately inspire us towards love, awe and wonder. Goska's intellectual
inquisition proves that the very acts of motion and inquiry are a kind of
devotion all their own. "
Tina Schumann,
"Two-Countries. U.S. Daughters and Sons of Immigrant Parents"
"Goska finds goodness and moments of beauty
and synchronicity amidst a world of hurt and oppression. Kindness and
serendipity give to her, and give to the reader as well, hope for the future
and a sense of religious wonder and faith. Her passion for birds and the avian
encounters – some downright magical – which occur at just the right moments in
her experience offer tantalizing evidence of greater forces at work than can be
explained by pure science or reason. Goska's book is provocative, in-your-face,
and uncompromising – all the trademarks of the author herself. It is bracing to
read strongly-held opinions backed up by facts and evidence instead of
feel-good but unsubstantiated politically correct writing. "
Marc J.
Chelemer, New Jersey birder
"All that Goska has done here is to give us a
simple, straightforward account of a brief episode in her life. And yet she has
captured something about the mystery of life and human interaction that is at
once deep, moving, and universal."
Bruce Bawer,
author, "Stealing Jesus"
"Goska takes the reader on a remarkable
journey, first encountering the personal and political corruption of academia
in the soul-crushing age of political correctness, and then finding escape and
finally restoration of spirit. This is no harangue or political manifesto, but
rather a compelling tale of exploration and growth from a natural storyteller
that just happens to illuminate the intellectual and moral issues of our age."
Thomas
Lifson, Founder and Editor, American Thinker, former Harvard professor of
East Asian Studies
https://www.amazon.com/God-Through-Binoculars-Hitchhiker-Monastery/dp/1947067613
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