A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister

by Julie Mars

After witnessing her older sister's losing battle with pancreatic cancer, "her journey though the dark landscape of religious doubt toward her God," Mars was overtaken with a compulsion: she wanted to go to church. So, she dedicated herself to visiting 31 houses of worship over a period of as many weeks. A Month of Sundays is the story of her enlightening spiritual pilgrimage.

In each chapter, Mars takes readers to a different scene -- whether it's a synagogue, a Baptist church, or a mosque -- and with each visit readers are able to piece together a more complete, heartfelt picture of faith, God, and the search for meaning. Along the way, a poignant memoir of the relationship between two sisters unfolds.

Drifting in and out of her memories with her sister, a grief-stricken Mars weaves between past and present, moving readers along her narrative path. Her story spills out like that of an old friend sitting at the kitchen table, fanning out her photos, sharing her struggles. A generosity and lack of judgment season her tale, full of joy and loss. Early on in her memoir, Mars says of her dying sister, "I consider it an honor and a privilege to be with her, every day, as she reflects on the state of her soul." We could say the same of Julie Mars.

(Summer 2005 Selection)

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Religion, Classics, Biography Memoir, Biography, Faith

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2005

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

After her sister's death, Julie Mars visits a bunch of churches and other religious gatherings to try to find answers. This journey is braided with her own personal journey of grief and attempts to reconcile to her past.

[Mollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as someone who enjoys church hopping... but that's not even nearly the meat of the book.
It's a very personal memoir about processing grief and life's purpose and mysteries. The churches/places of worship are just an interesting backdrop.
Having suffered some large losses in the past few years of my life the first third of the book was a little bit gut-wrenching but then I got past it and it really was a nicely done memoir structured in an interesting an really very satisfying way.

[Andie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have liked to ride along with the author on her Sunday morning visits.

[Katie Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 maybe but maybe not idk

[Lindsey Gandhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really in between a 3 and 4 rating. I lean towards the 4 on the aspect that Mars is really raw with sharing her grief over the loss of her sister and how she wanted to try and meet that grief head on. There were many times I was crying right along with her. I lean towards the 3 rating for the fact that I felt like she never really found what she was searching for. And that in itself is okay, I guess I had the expectation that by the end of the book she would have found some answer. It didn't appear (to me) she did. Also, there were some religious institutions that she didn't really talk much about her experience there, while others she wrote lots on. I wanted to know more..... I don't know if the author wrote it that way because those institutions didn't give their permission to be written about or she didn't see or get anything from those services worth writing about.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Julie Mars, loses her sister to cancer after caring for her in her dying months. She returns home to New Mexico and finds she wants two things. The second is this:
"My second serious desire is to go to church. I am surprised and a little afraid of this, so I set up some ground rules for myself. I will go to church every Sunday for thirty-one weeks: a month of Sundays. I will dress up and arrive a half hour early to take a picture with Shirley's simple camera, which I have taken from her farmhouse. I will enter the church five minutes early and sit somewhere in the middle. I will open my heart to the spirit."

Each chapter is one such visit. Fascinating, informative and enjoyable!

[Debora Baird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those rare books that really makes me evaluate my beliefs and how I go about life. Very interesting to read about the different religions. I'm so glad I'm not as lost as the author is. We need to do this for book club, but it does use the F word once--just sayin'.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fabulous! The author went to 31 different churches for 31 weeks (a month of Sundays) and she tells about them all. It's pretty facsinating.

[Jennifer Pletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I found this by accident and I am glad I did. I think it is well written, and I loved how the author weaved her visits to different houses or worship with the story of her sister. She and her sister were very far apart in age - her sister being more of a parent figure than a sibling. The author always looked up to her sister so when she is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given just a few months to live, Julie drops everything to care for her. After her sister dies, Julie looks for her and looks for closure as she tries to find the faith that her sister had at the end of her life. Good book.

[Monica Tomasello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Mars spends a month of Sundays (31 weeks) visiting a different church each week looking for spiritual guidance and the spirit of her beloved sister. Each week she takes something different away from the service-some good, some not.

I appreciated and learned from her analysis, too, as well as her struggle to find solace.

[Char · Rating 3 out of 5]

The timing of me reading this book was very fitting. When you are grieving for a lost loved one, even if it's 12 years later, it's comforting to read a book about the journey of someone else as they work through their own grieving process.

[Blackrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5? I don't really know how to review this one tbh I kinda enjoyed it. There was some things that could have been left out. There were several moments where I question the importance. And itll take several readings until I feel like I did it properly.

[Sean Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very relatable, especially if you have had a sick family member and may have had to care for them - but also anyone who has searched for religious meaning in life, death, and God.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't want to read this, being an atheist, but instead of a sermon about going to church I found a deeply moving story about one woman's journey to find peace. Also I don't know why Goodreads won't let me rate this more than 1 star. I give it 5.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Mars spends the last seven months of her sister's life with her as she's dying from pancreatic cancer. After her sister's death, the author spends a month of Sundays going to 31 different churches seeking spiritualism during her grieving process. Mars writes of her feelings with frankness and honesty as she reflects on her feelings during her sister's illness and then onto her own grief. This book was not easy to read. It brought back a lot of my own personal memories of grieving.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the spiritual journey of a woman who goes to a different church every week for 31 weeks. You don't get much real info about the churches. It is more her musings on trying to make sense of the death of her sister. It was a very powerful narrative on family relationships, illness, and death. I recommend it.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Month of Sundays is about one woman's spiritual quest after losing her sister to pancreatic cancer. This memoir is quite haunting and more than a bit sad, though Mars doesn't seem isolated in her grief. She takes the reader along for her ride to all 31 churches over the course of 31 weeks. Her emotions are stark and her story is as intriguing as it is heartbreaking.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting view of a search for oneself and coming to terms with loss but seeking out lessons from various churches. It's not about trying new religions but where the author is mentally at each church

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book and it really made for some great discussion at our book club. My heart just aches this poor woman. She is so lost and I really hope that one day she is able to find real peace.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about a woman's spiritual journey and complicated family relationships. It was not outstanding, but a very good book, and valuable read for anyone on their own spiritual journey.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

the author writes of visiting different churches and her search for meaning after the suffering and death of her sister. I felt bad for her. She just doesn't get IT.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very candid account of a woman's faith journey.

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its so nice when someone does something consistently - a great idea for a book.. loved it and have recommended to alot of people.

[Debbie Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again...not for everyone. A woman's search for finding meaning in death. Reflections on life.

[Heather Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book very much as a journey through agnosticism and grief.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would like to give it 4.5 stars. Thought provoking.