Wild Woman: A Footnote, the Desert, and My Quest for an Elusive Saint

by Amy Frykholm

Runaway. Castaway. Prostitute. Hermit. Desert dweller. Saint. Boundary breaker. Archetypal wild woman. In the corner of a library, in a dusty stack of books, in the footnote of an obscure text, journalist Amy Frykholm discovered a short citation about Mary of Egypt, all but unknown to most, and herself a footnote in ancient history. Not knowing why or from where, Frykholm felt called by this ancient woman's story. Thus begins the story of her decades-long search to uncover the truth about the woman who, by her own devices, figured out how to acquire what she most wanted--and when she did, discovered that it wasn't enough.

With a scholar's eye and a mystic's heart, Frykholm offers a look at an elusive and dynamic figure from history while offering insights into our own inner--and potentially rewilded--lives. In search of Mary, the author traveled throughout Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, walking deeper and deeper into the desert, across thresholds of space and time, to find the meaning of Mary of Egypt's life--as well as her own embrace of the wild and sacred within.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Spirituality, History, Christianity, Religion

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2021

About the author

Amy Frykholm is an American writer whose four books of non-fiction have covered the territory of American religion from apocalypticists to saints. She is an award winning writer and senior editor for the magazine The Christian Century, appears frequently on television and radio programs as an expert in American religion, and has lectured widely on subjects like the Rapture, purity culture, and lost female figures in Christianity. She has a PhD in Literature from Duke University.

Reviews

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, that follows Mary of Egypt, came to me at just the right time.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book I typically read, but I needed it. Everyone has their own dragonfly experience. May you all find the beauty amongst the pain.

[Katherine Pershey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I recently read a pilgrimage narrative that irritated the heck out of me, and wasn’t sure if it was the book or the genre. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of Amy Frykholm and her excessive talent as a writer and public interpreter of religion. I loved this book so much. It is beautiful but not tidy, and while it does convey profound wisdom - like, the ending took my breath away - it didn’t do so in a shiny, marketable, irritating-as-heck kind of way. The writing shimmers; the descriptions of place and people are so vivid I (forgive the cliche) felt like I was there. Perhaps best of all following along with this pilgrimage sent me on a completely unexpected personal quest… to be continued. You can’t feel Amy Frykholm’s transformation on these pages and not be transformed yourself. Highly highly recommend.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes of pilgrimage, wilderness, and transformation. A thought-provoking book.

[Hillary Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book arrives during a particularly painful time of loss for me. It also arrives right after a trip through the deserts of Utah, Nevada, and California where I found myself puzzled over why deserts bring out the most painful longings. Why they make us feel so unanchored.

Wild Women explains why. Wild Women gives words to my discomfort with being unanchored. There is so much about my embedded theology that tells me I need to look for anchors. But today, I have none, nor do I know where to look I found companionship from Frykholm as she ventures into the most unanchored places in her own self. She introduces us to a saint who’s life had few anchors. And a journey that has no map. Frykholm gives us an exquisite visual for what it looks like to be in transition. The vulnerability of betweenness. We’re invited to read the landscapes for signs, but not to clutch those signs as our everything. This is a book for pilgrims of all journeys. Read it as a primer for your journey, or as a companion while you’re on one.

Her storytelling has infinite complexity. Almost like you could read this story over and over again, like a Buddhist koan and still not know the deepest meaning.

And finally, my favorite quote of the book, “If you want to find something, ask the women.”

[Jenny Lavallee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly lost my cool on page 103. The author just seems entirely privileged and is painting an image of herself she wants to be seen. The Word Of God instructs so many rules in which she’s blatantly behaving opposite of, and she is still determined to paint herself in a holier-art-through light. I couldn’t stand it. Be a good person or don’t; just own it.

[Robert Gard · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you embark upon a quest, you must do so with a question rather than an anticipated conclusion. Doing so means the question may go unanswered, but that is better than the conclusion not being reached. Wild Woman is a quest of uncertainty where the author questions a mystic's past, her own present and her best friend's future. Every step is a move into the unknown. What seems to be obvious is hidden and what seems to be irrelevant is crucial. Through it all, the author's doubts and struggles serve as a steady connector between the reader and the foreign world in which she is immersed.

Frykholm's writing is astute, earnest, engaging and vulnerable. She doesn't drive the narrative forward with false confidence. It's her self-doubt which moves the story beyond the realm of an elusive ancient saint and into the relatable, chaotic world of today. As the story progresses, you drop your anticipated conclusion that Frykholm will find the saint and are instead gripped by the question, "Will she find herself?" It's a journey worth following.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend told me about this book and as a lover of pilgrimage and with a weird obsession for odd stories and histories of non institutional Christianity, I had to have it. I devoured it in 2 days. It’s not a hard read. Amy Frykholm is a storyteller in the tradition of Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes, whom she mentions many times and someone I think of as a Wise Mama Crone to all who gather near her. To say I’m a fan of Estes is an understatement. Wild Woman landed on my doorstep at just the right time, if you believe such things. It is travelogue, memoir, pilgrimage, inner journey, political in the very best way. It sparked something inside of me that I had cynically thought was long dead, a kernel of hope. Many thanks to Kevin Johnson, one of the founders of the Encountering Silence podcast, who interviewed her and and suggested the book to me.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to my friend Heather both for recommending and loaning me this book. There were two things that drew me to Frykholm's book: a connection to Jordan where I live, and the story of Mary of Egypt, one of the Desert Mothers who I knew little about. Frykholm does a masterful telling her journey to follow the path of this saint who may or may not have really lived. In the process, she weaves together a fascinating journey through her research and her physical travels following the path of Mary's life. I did have a hard time following her meditations connecting Mary with her own life and her friend's struggle with cancer. This is the challenge of any memoir: it may or may not resonate with a particular reader. But the history and travel notes drew me in. And the physical book itself is beautiful.

[Brittney M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Woman embodies the age-old idea that our journeys are often far more meaningful than our ultimate destination. Through this memoir, we hope and struggle alongside Amy to grasp at an elusive and nearly forgotten saint we hope will give us comfort and understanding, soon realizing that the pilgrimage itself provides more answers than any one person ever could. Amy’s writing is detailed yet poignant, delicately painting the desert landscape in color and taking the reader on adventure that spans millennia. I thoroughly enjoyed every paragraph — a must read for any adventurer with a boundless soul.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frykholm's pilgrimage seeking this vivid, probably-mythic-but-fascinating saint, Mary of Egypt, is quiet but revelatory, and her irresistible draw to Mary is one I can sympathize with - there is something about a woman, labeled a slut by all the menfolk, going off into the desert alone to be with God. Sometimes this book felt a big long to me, with so many small details of the journey being shared, but I love Frykholm's voice and wonderings about things and characters along the way, and the overall vagueness of the meaning of the journey - somehow, modern life seems so much like that! A pilgrimage to where and for what, we are not sure anymore.

[Peter Boumgarden · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Amy does an excellent job walking you (literally and figuratively) through the journey all of us are on. The book explores each of our movements from death to life, with all their fits and starts. I love how she moves away from an abstract description of Mary of Egypt (in true biography fashion) to a personal journey where she learns just as much about herself in the exploration. In doing that, the reader is paid dividends with their own form of self-insight. As in her other works, Amy's insights and meditations on desire, in particular, are worth receiving. Highly recommended!

[Morgan Swingholm · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author wrote this book after stumbling upon it in a library & had a spiritual longing/ connection to the main character, Mary of Egypt. 5 years later, she’s in the Middle East following in the Saints footsteps & trying to recreate her story.
I should’ve read more reviews on this book before heading in. (I imaged more of a “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed.) It is more religious than I imagined and lots of places to remember. As someone who thrives for a good scene, this book stressed me out between keeping up with places/people along her journey, along with Frykholms own personal story.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christian woman seeks signs of an ancient, reclusive saint on an arduous and soul-searching journey through Egypt, Jerusalem, and Jordan. As an Orthodox Christian, converted as an adult from the Baptist church, I had heard the story of St Mary of Egypt annually during Lent, but hadn’t asked all the questions posed in this book. This reflection helped me place the Saint’s life in context of the actual wilderness and see her humanity as well as the extraordinary aspects of her life.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say this was more of a 3.5 for me. Interesting account. I learned a good deal and definitely want to visit Egypt and Jordan now. I loved Amy Frykholm’s style of writing, the content just didn’t always hold my attention. Altogether, glad to have read it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story but not the original one the book is based on. The one where the writers interest turns into a project that turns into a trip that turns into affecting her. I haven’t read Estes’ Women Who Run With Wolves but have put it on my list.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even know why I took this book from the library because I normally don't read any books like this, but I loved it. It had none of the staleness I would expect from a book about a religious figure and was an adventure instead.

[Elizabeth Felicetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Going to use it as the inaugural read for my church's book club. Reviewed it here: https://pres-outlook.org/2021/09/wild...

[Debra Merillat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Amy Frykholm for this amazing book! It is a story about pilgrimage, spiritual, physical, and the unearthing of wisdom in the body and in the past. I loved it. Midrashic.

[Jorie Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story - both of Amy's journey and that of Mary of Egypt.

[Elaine Hedgecock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frykholm awakened my own spiritual yearnings. I am grateful.

[Konner Syed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth a read. It accompanied traveling very well. Has sort of Alchemist vibes to it.