Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic's Love Story

by Sera Beak

When one person dares to speak her truth, it challenges us all to live our own. With Red Hot and Holy , Sera Beak offers a provocative and intimate view of what it means to get up close and personal with the divine in modern times.

With a rare combination of audacious wit, scholarly acumen, and tender vulnerability―vibrantly mixed with red wine, rock songs, tattoos, and erotic encounters―Sera candidly chronicles the highs and lows of her mystical journey. From the innocence of her childhood crush on God; through a whirlwind of torrid liaisons and bitter break-ups with Christianity, Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism, and the New Age; and finally into committed monogamy with her own Red Hot and Holy Goddess, Sera shares transformative insights, encouraging us all to trust our unique path and ignite our own spiritual love affair.

Sera Beak's luscious writing and renegade spiritual wisdom that slices through religious and new age dogma made her debut book The Red Book a breakout success. With Red Hot and Holy she offers a far more personal book―an illuminating, hilarious, and above all utterly honest portrait of the heart-opening process of mystical realization. This hot and holy book invites you to embrace your soul, unleash your true Self, and burn, baby, burn with divine love.

Genres: Spirituality, Memoir, Nonfiction, Feminism, Religion, Goddess, Womens

282 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2013

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but. . .
it is not for everyone.

Sara's life story is an intoxicating mosh pit of academia, religion, mysticism, the sacred feminine, and sensuality. And for most of it, I felt the electric tempo and grooved along. However, there were parts of her story that left me equally bewildered and grateful this was HER journey and not mine.

In the simplest of explanations, here is what I absorbed:

1. Learning to live your own truth requires questioning everything you believe while trusting your own answers. (Not so easy.)
2. Living your truth will give others permission to embody theirs. (Encouraging.)
3. Embracing truth is about surrendering our agendas so we can fully encompass and commune with our truest selves and total love. (Life changing.)

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every woman on the planet needs to read this book. Truly.

I felt like this book was written about me (despite the fact that the details of our lives are vastly different, the FEELINGS are so similar), and for me (thank you, Sera, for helping me give myself permission to be all of the woman that I am and to excavate the deeply buried parts of me that I thought were bad.)

I laughed, I wept, I rejoiced, I raged. It cracked me wide open. It fanned my dying ember into a roaring flame. And I burn.

This book is completely and utterly changing me. And it feels so good.

[Deana Moss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't get over how disappointing this book was. I read The Red Book, started following Sera's blog before she dismantled it, waited years for this to come out...and it's just awful. Actually, she says in the book it's the first thing she's ever let anyone read that hasn't been edited by an ex-boyfriend. So I think a lot of what made her writing good was the editing it had.

This book was so frustrating. For all the depth on topics that are better left in one's diary, you never really feel you get to know this woman. She's admitting things most of us wouldn't, while holding back the things you might really want to know. There comes a point midway through when this book loses any structure and just becomes a monotonous dream diary. Too much introspection and no grounding in real life.

Sadly, this book made the author seem so unlikable that I don't think I'd want to read anything else by her, and certainly I don't want to take any of her classes. Her use the word Red went beyond "branding" and into gimmicky and ridiculous.

If I hadn't had any expectations for this book, I would have merely stopped reading when it turned bad. But because I looked forward to it and had such high hopes for it, my feelings are active dislike. All her "Harvard training" in theology is a waste when it comes to the superficial nature of the spiritual material she tries to convey. I expected a second book to have more depth than the first, not less.

This is not someone from whom to take spiritual advice.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a whole summer to read this book. OK, it was a really busy summer. And this book was not light beach reading. I put it down for long periods of busy times until I could pick it up and again and give it the attention it deserved. And it deserved to be read twice, in the first reading. I found myself reading the book at night, and then going over the same pages in the morning, with a yellow highlighter and a pen for dashing my own thoughts on the pages.... and for fleshing out those thoughts in my journal. Yeah, it took me a very long time to get through this book. But it was worth it. And I will probably read it again.

This is an incredibly brave and courageous book. Sera makes some pretty bold statements about how the Spirit(s) of the Divine Feminine work through her personally. Yet, she does not aggrandize herself, reminding the reader on nearly every page that this is OUR birthright, as well. She took this journey, not only for herself, but for all the women in world. To blaze the trail, as it were. Over and over again, she gives both herself and the reader permission to be brave enough to face and voice and live the truth of our souls, no matter how crazy it sounds within the patriarchal structure that we live in.

This book came along at exactly the right time for me, as I needed a light, a language, and a permission slip to move forward into my own Red Tent of soul searching and realization. She released me from the label of "selfishness" that others give to women who dare to pull in and serve themselves and their own souls rather than feeding hungry, housing the homeless, dusting the furniture and having dinner ready on time, first.

pg. xi: ...if I actually tell you the truth it will give you permission to tell YOUR truth.... the best way to get to know a Goddess is to listen to a woman tell her story.

That is a quotable quote if I ever heard one, and fires me up. Thank you, Sera!

pg. xiii: I'm a white, middle-class, Western woman who has been gifted with the life circumstances, time and resources to dive deep into her soul and write about it. It is a privilege and a responsibility that I take very seriously..... Writing my Love Story is an act of service to all women on this planet.

Those are both lofty and humble intentions, and we aren't even in the numbered pages yet, sister! Yes, this book is chock full of power and truth and courage.

pg. xv: This book is part spiritual memoir, part self-help, and part Shout-Out from my soul to yours.

Sera Beak really does set her own path and style in this book, veering away from neatly proofed paragraphs with revelations splashed in red down the middle of the pages..... that are now lined with my yellow highlights and notated with my ball point scribbles on the edges and in the margins.

Sera Beak goes against the grain in so many ways: in living this story, in telling this story, in writing this story. And ultimately, she does it because it must be done. She acknowledges that women who write the truth of their souls have historically been discounted, dismissed, labeled as hysterical, put away, even burned at the stake. But it is essential for women to keep writing our the truth of our souls. In fact, many women become ill until they finally wrote what their souls were begging them to write. (pg. 209)

pg. 241: As I write this last chapter I have no publisher no career, no human partner, and limited finances. I have no idea what will happen to me or this book. We both could be viewed as failures. But I do know one thing; I have my soul. And this is TRUE success.

I want to go there. And I will.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The beginning was fascinating especially her fascination with Kali. Yet as it progressed the more self absorbed she became.

[Elizabeth Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now here's an unexpected memoir! Sera Beak is a theologically educated woman with experience in New Age traditions who has dedicated her life to the Red Lady--her name for the goddess Kali. Two aspects of Beak's story made this a worthwhile read for me. First, she's achingly (and sometimes gruelingly) honest about the difficulties of serving this demanding, wild, rule-breaking and sensual divinity. Staying true to her path required long spells of despair and painful reordering of priorities and lots of social rule-breaking. I appreciate anyone who doesn't sugar-coat the spiritual life, no matter what form it takes. Second, I found Beak's depiction of the Red Lady a nice challenge to my feminist Christianity. She explores aspects of divinity that Christianity steers clear of--the holiness in seduction, in sexual touch, in wild dancing, in a fierce, destructive, feminine force. I like having my God-box broken open.

This book's strength--it's scholarly foundation--is also its weakness. I wished for more ordinary, embodied stories. I wanted less of the abstract, internal struggles of faith and more of the lived consequences. I also had to remind myself that Beak was evoking only one aspect of the goddess. The mother in me longs for a similar, serious memoir about the mother goddess, grounded in the earth, profoundly relational, and generous beyond imagining. But that's a different story.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm about 75% through this and I've got to throw in the towel. I was soo excited about this concept and voraciously read the first few chapters. But by the middle, I just stopped relating to the writer. She writes about choices she made that feel so far from where I am in life that it just kept getting more and more "out there," and wasn't in alignment with what I'm looking to cultivate in my life.

I respect that Sera Beak is following her own path, but her writing just isn't feeding my soul in any way. I did feel inspired to read some other books by teachers who have been influential for Ms. Beak. Maybe I will pick this book back up at a different time in my life but for now, I'm going to take a look at Marion Woodman's work.

UPDATE ON JAN 2, 2017.: I came back to read this after some time and I really love what Sera has put out there. Once I got to the last third of the book, it became revelatory for me. Her work with the emerging archetype of the abandoned daughter are fresh and totally revolutionary. You just have to hang in there until she gets there. I also really liked reading about the divine prostitute archetype. Sera, I hope your next book is all about Sarah la Kali! Jai Ma!!!! xoxoxo

[Rebecca Hulse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Hot and Holy is like a giant knife cutting through the remains of the veil shielding us from the Knowledge of us. With well places Capitals, poetry, Red and her one honest raw communication of exactly how Soul is for her this book has rocked my world. Every second sentence seemed to be an invitation for my soul to remember and boy it did. I have remembered moments of my own past(lives), and this time haven't shut them out. Sera is a catalyst for Soul awareness and I am jumping down the rabbit hole. If you're looking for a bit more life and mess than Deepak Chopra or the gentle path of meditation and no sex is boring the hell out of your Soul Self please read this book, challenge your reality and make your Own way.

Sera, I love this, thank you for be being gutsy enough to publish it, and even Do it. I honor you and your journey. Thank you. :)

[Alyson Willcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the book you are looking for, even though you don't know you're looking for it. you're looking for it because you're looking for direction on your spiritual path and you're tired of not living up to other spiritual/religious ideals. this book is honest and open, raunchy and seductive, and Inspiring and informative.
read this book if you want to be humbled and spiritually satiated. feel good about yourself, your higher self, and your soul. love

[Liyana Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Sh*t. An incredible spiritual memoir, linking soul with body with the feminine, the most natural connection in the world, but somehow so lost and forgotten - until now. Thank Goddess for this book and for Sera Beak's bold voice.

[Adèle Robbertze (Green) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmmm Sera' style is so simple. It was so easy to read. Reading the book published in June 2013, even explained more to me about why my own book "Can You See Me Naked" and why it was so important. I felt that my book (published in SA in August 2013) was published too soon. Where Sera highlights the journey to her own soul, mine specifically asks the masculine to see the feminine soul. But first you have to start the journey of the search to the soul.
I read this book without putting it down. I read a lot of serious books and Sera's nude display of how she discovered her soul made me cry and laugh at the same time. She really did manage to put into words what is lost in religion and new age stuff in her very own way. I loved this. It has been a long time for me since I loved a book this much.

Read it even if you hate it. It will still do its work by asking the questions 'out loud and personal' that every wo(man) asks at some point 'Who am I'
If Sera gifted me, it was with how much she loves herself. Why is this so hard for women to do?

Sera Beak you inspire with naked truth. You make reading personal and real. I would love you even if I hated you, because it is impossible not to experience you reading your book.

A book like this comes with a warning - DARE TO READ. It really does because if it took her that much courage to write it, don't think reading it will be easy. You look deeply at your own choices in life. As someone who sacrificed everything for my own journey I only feel respect for her. If you chose differently you might not like a book that challenges who you THINK you are. This is a book for real people.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. I've greatly enjoyed listening to Sera speak (she often mentions that she is more skilled as a writer than as a speaker, but I actually think it's the other way around). And I did enjoy the beginning of this book. But then...it never delivered (for me) what I thought it was promising.

I think part of the issue here is that this book -- by Sera's own admission -- began as a spiritual self-help book, then morphed into a spiritual memoir. But I feel that the book's description and marketing communicate that it remained a spiritual self-help book. If this book was more explicitly described as a memoir, I would have approached it very differently, and probably wouldn't have held the incorrect, unfulfilled expectations that I did.

I really respect Sera. It took major, MAJOR guts to write this (not to mention live it). I'm going to read her Red Book next to see if it delivers on what I felt this book started to offer but never quite achieved. I was left aching to know a "how."

That said, I think it's worth reading. We don't have many non-mainstream female voices speaking this kind of freedom. I hope Sera continues to write, because I will continue to read her words.

(Also, as a mother, I found it hard to connect to Sera's life. I'd love to read a similarly fierce and howling book, but one written by a mother. I want to see what an awakened woman's parenting looks like.)

[Raquel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire this book for the parts in which she dissects and explores other faiths, especially the concepts of divine masculine and feminine. Those parts felt rich and fascinating for me. I don't know what to make of her personal spiritual journey because those parts were sort of bizarre and I couldn't quite follow them. It honestly fell apart for me in the end. Still, it was brave of her to put her story out there, it helped me understand certain concepts better, and it encouraged me to start doing more reading and exploring more about spirituality.

[Ezzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soulful wisdom from a wise woman fearlessly treading her own path.

[Ami Kismet · Rating 5 out of 5]

each page rang true, and pierced straight to the heart

[Courtney Backes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much respect to Sera for the depths of vulnerability she went through to share this work. Her experiences with spirituality, religion, femininity, and the soul are refreshingly relatable. I love to pick this book up after a time and remember.. some great wisdom here from her as well as many devoted to unveiling truth...

[Nik Maack · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the spiritualism in general, it's not an an easy book to read if you are, ahem, penis-enabled. Sera is very big on attributing her soul to the female. And she is welcome to do so. But she assumes that everyone (male & female) needs a lot more feminine in their life.

As a sensitive new age guy trying to get him touch with his masculinity -- no thanks. I actually feel like I carry too much feminine in me, and I'd like to she'd some. That's my personal myth / problem.

I am all for getting touch with an imaginary friend who helps you figure your soul out, and it's a game I love to play. It's when people assume the it is objective reality that I get a little worried. There is a tendency in me, and perhaps all humans, to assume MY problem is also YOUR problem. The thing is, I believe my view and Sera's view may be reflections of objective reality, but they're not for everyone. Which makes talking about this stuff complex.

Sera toys with this -- saying her spirituality is inside and outside and all sides. She says her myth is not objectively real. But at the same time her red family myth is clearly more than a myth to her. Even as she says she doesn't want to convince us or sell to us that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a baby -- she really wants to convince us.

It is an interesting read and it pointed me to some other books to check out. As a human with a penis, I might recommend it to mystical women. Not sure I would recommend it to other penis carrying humans.

It's interesting. I plan on donating my copy to my local library.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life and continues to do so. One of my all time favourites and a must for all women!

[Dawn Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this one because I couldn't resist the title. I read it straight through because I couldn't resist her fearless authenticity. Truthfulness, though, is only half the equation for me. I want more than juicy tidbits of personal history. RHH satisfies this requirement. Whenever Sera Beak reveals intimate experiences or hard choices, she shares the insights gained from them. She gives them meaning. We are definitely accompanying her step-by-awkward step along her journey of awakening. It took a couple of chapters for me to acclimate to her liberal use of colloquial speech (e.g. “mash up,” “shout-out from my soul to yours,” and “walking all ninja-like”), but she’s also an academic with serious credentials in comparative religions. I’m impressed with how she incorporates that research into the book in a way that does not intrude on her personal story. Her path differs dramatically from mine, but I recognize bits and nuances of my own experience in hers. This is an intriguing book, even radical. The energy that explodes from it reminds me of Perfect Brilliant Stillness, by David Carse. I’ve read Red Hot and Holy twice. I’ll read it again. I’m drawn in by Sera Beak’s authenticity, passion, humor, and insights. But especially by her all-encompassing sense of devotion.

[Michelle Simonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Hot & Holy found it's way to the daunting stack of books next to my bed via a friend who does not share my love of books, so I took her rave review seriously. I was ignoring it's siren call in favor of an urgent and excruciatingly frustrating project that it is my greatest burning desire to create when I suddenly felt compelled to pick up the book and open it to a random page to see if there might be an answer for me. Pages 172-3 caused me to immediately go to the beginning and devour the entire book.

Red Hot & Holy is not only a fabulous story that kept me intellectually entertained with it's deep wisdom, but between the belly laughs, breathtaking AHAs, the gut wrenching empathy, the heart opening inspiration (as well as some sensations in other regions I will not elaborate on here!), this book engaged my whole core and resonated in every cell.

I can't guarantee that it will be as powerful for you as it was for me, but I sure hope so - for your sake as well as for all who will experience the much needed, paradigm shifting, ripple effect.

[Andy Anaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot. My style is typically to start a book, get 70 pages into it, and then start another book. I have anywhere between 15-20 books sitting around in various states of finishedness in different piles all over the place.

But this book I could not put down. Couldn't go on reading any of my other books until this one was done. I could tell the author was onto something I was extremely hungry for.

As someone who has felt the divine feminine knocking without the benefit of prior study, Beak's was a great timely story to encounter. Anybody interested in knowledge and conversation with the holy guardian angel vis-a-vis Crowley will get tingles down their spine reading her first hand account of coming into alignment with larger-than-life aspect of her identity.

Her style may differ a little from Israel Regardie or Dion Fortune...but I would recommend this text right along side them. This is 2014. Curiouser and curiouser!

[Mariah McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within reading two chapters of this book my face broke into a delicious smile as a tickle of sheer delight spread. My husband could feel me beaming. He turned to me and asked "How's the book?"
I sighed dreamily. "Oh, it's brilliant. I feel happy and well, it's hard to describe. I feel enlivened, full of wonder for life and existence. Her writing is . . . " I struggled to think of the proper word "Unfettered!" Red, Hot and Holy is a powerful read.

[Tiare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been soaking this in and having a hard time reviewing it. Honestly it gets deep into her personal experiences and requires an open mind to make it all the way through. Few people could do so. I'm one of them. Because I loved her other book so much. My recommendation is read her other book first. Then decide if you are intrigued by her life story enough to read this one. I was.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not believe in the Divine Feminine, Masculine, or any other gender binary - but I do believe in Sera Beak. Awesome book! Modern people need brave role models and this person is amazing - smart, fun, funny, rooted, spiritual without being a total asswipe like 98% of the rest of the so-called 'seekers' out there, awake and alive. You can almost feel her pulse while you read.

[Kimba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jumbled and confused and annoyingly packed with puns and alliteration. Beak is just at the beginning of any meaningful spiritual or divine insights. She quotes from works which sound interesting so there is some value to this book as a reading list of sorts. Her honesty is worth applauding, but this reads like it was written by somebody with too much free time who is searching for direction.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING - I think this is such a great book for modern women searching for their spirituality, especially if you can't find yourself in any religion or even modern spirituality. Brilliant writing, so easy to follow and fun. An adventure in finding your true self.
I also dearly love mythology and love strong women or strong goddesses and there is plenty of that here!
Love it - very empowering!

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading spiritual memoirs, which kept me turning the pages of this unorthodox book. The author is brave in the telling of her story and has suffered much in trying to lead a life of personal authenticity. I consciously chose to suspend judgment on the content of her story and instead simply enjoyed reading it.

[Orna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but far too much of the book including excerpts from other authors, 2 in particular of which I have the books here to be read but now have read too much of what is in those books to actually warrant reading them. I feel a quote here and there is fine, but when a good portion of a book takes up what the book entails, it takes away from the authors own experiences.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self-absorbed navel-gazing. Instead of spending more time at spas and alone in her house contemplating herself, why not raise her head, look at her fellow humans, and do some good for others? Perhaps by looking outward, she would finally find what she was searching for within.

[Desirae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lover her honesty and her journey. This book has many levels, and even though I couldn't follow everything the heart of the message is to find your divine self. Inspiring and challenging, every woman should read this book.