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Seeking Enlightenment... Hat by Hat: A Skeptic's Path to Religion
A refreshingly honest spiritual exploration from the New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon novels.
Actor, adventuress, seeker of truth, and author of the New York Times bestselling Anna Pigeon mystery series, Nevada Barr beckons readers to share her spiritual search for meaning in life.
Hat by hat, step by step, Barr leads readers down her path to enlightenment by sharing personal episodes, some of them funny and revealing, others painfully honest. Each chapter offers a truth or an answer forged through experience and deep reflection, and a nugget of insight certain to encourage thought and discussion among readers, who may, in turn, find their own spiritual language.
Actor, adventuress, seeker of truth, and author of the New York Times bestselling Anna Pigeon mystery series, Nevada Barr beckons readers to share her spiritual search for meaning in life.
Hat by hat, step by step, Barr leads readers down her path to enlightenment by sharing personal episodes, some of them funny and revealing, others painfully honest. Each chapter offers a truth or an answer forged through experience and deep reflection, and a nugget of insight certain to encourage thought and discussion among readers, who may, in turn, find their own spiritual language.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
58 people are currently reading
525 people want to read
About the author
Nevada Barr
66 books2,297 followersNevada Barr is a mystery fiction author, known for her "Anna Pigeon" series of mysteries, set in National Parks in the United States. Barr has won an Agatha Award for best first novel for Track of the Cat.
Barr was named after the state of her birth. She grew up in Johnstonville, California. She finished college at the University of California, Irvine. Originally, Barr started to pursue a career in theatre, but decided to be a park ranger. In 1984 she published her first novel, Bittersweet, a bleak lesbian historical novel set in the days of the Western frontier.
While working in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Barr created the Anna Pigeon series. Pigeon is a law enforcement officer with the United States National Park Service. Each book in the series takes place in a different National Park, where Pigeon solves a murder mystery, often related to natural resource issues. She is a satirical, witty woman whose icy exterior is broken down in each book by a hunky male to whom she is attracted (such as Rogelio).
Currently, Ms. Barr lives in New Orleans, LA.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/nevada...
Barr was named after the state of her birth. She grew up in Johnstonville, California. She finished college at the University of California, Irvine. Originally, Barr started to pursue a career in theatre, but decided to be a park ranger. In 1984 she published her first novel, Bittersweet, a bleak lesbian historical novel set in the days of the Western frontier.
While working in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Barr created the Anna Pigeon series. Pigeon is a law enforcement officer with the United States National Park Service. Each book in the series takes place in a different National Park, where Pigeon solves a murder mystery, often related to natural resource issues. She is a satirical, witty woman whose icy exterior is broken down in each book by a hunky male to whom she is attracted (such as Rogelio).
Currently, Ms. Barr lives in New Orleans, LA.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/nevada...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
January 18, 2008
I usually avoid books like this because I'm not religious. I made an exception here because I'd enjoyed Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, and I'm glad I did. Nothing preachy here, and it's not necessarily just about religion. She shares a lot about her doubts and weaknesses and the unlikely places in which she has found answers, or at least some comfort.
I liked this quote about doing good as a purposeful part of living, rather than doing it hoping for a reward after death:
"Caring in its myriad forms gives my life meaning. Whether that meaning will outlive this body is of no relevance. For now I can live with pride and a sense of purpose."
Yes! That is the philosophy of us secular humanists.
I liked this quote about doing good as a purposeful part of living, rather than doing it hoping for a reward after death:
"Caring in its myriad forms gives my life meaning. Whether that meaning will outlive this body is of no relevance. For now I can live with pride and a sense of purpose."
Yes! That is the philosophy of us secular humanists.
July 29, 2018
I've been fascinated with the first two novels of the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr. The stories are good, but the fascination for me is the way Anna thinks and her relation with her sister. This had me wondering about the thinking of the author, so when I found a non-fiction book with "A Skeptics Path to Religion" on the cover, I had to have a look. The book has a bit of biography in the 17 pages of Introduction. After that it has short chapters/essays of about 5 pages on average. She tells her thinking about various topics concerning religion and life and the journey is quite a story. It is ongoing. I found her look at religion very refreshing in that it is not even close to any cookie cutter model. I found here a look at such a beautiful individual experience, one that is alive and growing. Her chapter on "church" was very helpful to me as I look at just why I go to church, because it is a question I have often asked myself. If you like reading her novels, I think you will enjoy this look at the author.
April 12, 2009
Sub-titled "A Skeptic's Path to Religion", this was a perfect book for a true skeptic like me. One of those books where I marked entire pages as being important to me. At one point Nevada Barr talks about "... the magic of naming..." I was amazed when I read this. I've written several essays (and a couple of family eulogies) about how my family taught me the importance of being able to give names to things -- birds, wildflowers, rocks, etc.
January 14, 2019
This is a collection of essays about various topics that relate to spirituality. It IS NOT for the devoutly religious, as it seems Barr is still on a path herself. It is a perfect read for me because her approach is more yogic in nature than Biblical. I find myself nodding through the read and wanting to buy it (this is a library copy) so I can highlight the heck out of it.
March 12, 2023
"The author of the New York Times-bestselling Anna Pigeon mystery series beckons readers to share her spiritual search for meaning in life.
"During her years as an actor, a writer, an adventuress, a nonbeliever, and a seeker of truth and amusement, Nevada Barr has been cursed and blessed with the question of 'Why?' Although the things she wanted to know were mostly in the realm of the unknowable, she sought answers through reading, thinking, and talking -- looking outward for signs and truths. But she found that while her quest for meaning provided inspiration, it afforded little in the way of proof.
"The she began to look inward for answers. Seeking Enlightenment . . . Hat by Hat is the beguiling story of her journey from arrogance and atheism toward humility and a sense of being part of something greater than herself. Hat by hat, step by step, Barr leads readers down her path to enlightenment by sharing personal episodes, some of them funny and revealing, others painfully honest. Each chapter offers a truth or an answer forged through experience and deep reflection, and a nugget of insight certain to encourage thought and discussion among readers, who may, in turn find their own spiritual language."
~~front & back flaps
I have very mixed emotions about this book, mostly because I seem to recall that the reason I wanted to read it was because Ms. Barr identified herself as an alcoholic and an AA member. But if that's true, she doesn't mention it except in passing.
Most of the essays are clearly spiritual -- not identifying with any religion. But a fair amount are ruminations about Christianity which is not my chosen concept of spirituality. So some I identified with very much, and others . . .well, mostly I skipped over those.
The book is well worth reading, whether or not you are Christian. It's only through my lens of belief that the book received only two stars.
"During her years as an actor, a writer, an adventuress, a nonbeliever, and a seeker of truth and amusement, Nevada Barr has been cursed and blessed with the question of 'Why?' Although the things she wanted to know were mostly in the realm of the unknowable, she sought answers through reading, thinking, and talking -- looking outward for signs and truths. But she found that while her quest for meaning provided inspiration, it afforded little in the way of proof.
"The she began to look inward for answers. Seeking Enlightenment . . . Hat by Hat is the beguiling story of her journey from arrogance and atheism toward humility and a sense of being part of something greater than herself. Hat by hat, step by step, Barr leads readers down her path to enlightenment by sharing personal episodes, some of them funny and revealing, others painfully honest. Each chapter offers a truth or an answer forged through experience and deep reflection, and a nugget of insight certain to encourage thought and discussion among readers, who may, in turn find their own spiritual language."
~~front & back flaps
I have very mixed emotions about this book, mostly because I seem to recall that the reason I wanted to read it was because Ms. Barr identified herself as an alcoholic and an AA member. But if that's true, she doesn't mention it except in passing.
Most of the essays are clearly spiritual -- not identifying with any religion. But a fair amount are ruminations about Christianity which is not my chosen concept of spirituality. So some I identified with very much, and others . . .well, mostly I skipped over those.
The book is well worth reading, whether or not you are Christian. It's only through my lens of belief that the book received only two stars.
June 18, 2015
The mystery writer Nevada Barr is a true skeptic--she came from a family where "God" was only used for swearing, church was never mentioned or thought of, and organized religion was regarded with derision. This is partly explained by the fact that her grandmother had had a "Bible belt" that she used frequently and enthusiastically on Barr's father. But after going through divorce, poverty, depression, and failure, finally sensing a hole in her being that modern life could not fill, she went to an Episcopal church as much for company as anything else. "If an Elks Club had been closer and open that night, my life would have been different." But the regular attendance started having other effects. Here is a collection of very short sermons, most of them frank and common-sensical. Her openness and self-awareness are very engaging. Barr was a park ranger for a number of years, and this story about one of her refresher training sessions seems appropriate, since I've been reading a lot of Jack Reacher:
A crusty old sheriff was our guest speaker. He asked the group what they did when citizens of an unsavory stripe talked back. One sturdy young fellow broad in the shoulders and short in the neck said, "I don't take shit off anybody. They give me shit, I take action." I was shrinking down into my seat wondering if that was the right answer and wishing I was a macho dude and not so small and female and verbal. The sheriff said, "As a law-enforcement officer it's your job to take shit. Punks smart mouth you, you take it. Drunks vomit on you, you take it. Ladies spit at you because you wrote 'em a ticket, you take it. Taking shit is what we do. You damn well better get good at it."
She develops her sermon from there.
A crusty old sheriff was our guest speaker. He asked the group what they did when citizens of an unsavory stripe talked back. One sturdy young fellow broad in the shoulders and short in the neck said, "I don't take shit off anybody. They give me shit, I take action." I was shrinking down into my seat wondering if that was the right answer and wishing I was a macho dude and not so small and female and verbal. The sheriff said, "As a law-enforcement officer it's your job to take shit. Punks smart mouth you, you take it. Drunks vomit on you, you take it. Ladies spit at you because you wrote 'em a ticket, you take it. Taking shit is what we do. You damn well better get good at it."
She develops her sermon from there.
October 5, 2018
Because I like both mysteries and nature writing, I've always been drawn to the books by Nevada Barr. Her work features strong women who go against the odds, and win. Her heroine, Anna Pidgeon, a park ranger, has been trapped in a desert sinkhole, underwater in the Dry Tortugas, and on an island in the middle of Lake Superior hunted by winter wolves. Her novels are not for the faint of heart.
So, when I encountered her book of essays entitled Seeking Enlightenment, I expected an unblinking journey through thoughtful questions demanding exact answers. I wasn't disappointed. Although sometimes I found the author raised more questions in the process.
Here you can find her thoughts on Vanity: "The rewards for being pretty are enormous. Pretty people earn more, have more friends, get called on more often in class and, yes even get better grades." And what happens to the rest of us? Ah, there lies the reward of her essay.
Or what three things never fail a girl? For Barr these are old Levi jackets, flip-flops, and girlfriends. And she proceeds to tell you why.
In an essay on fear, the author starts out by saying, "Fear is my least-favorite emotion, worse even than despair. At least, when in despair I can watch old black-and-white movies and each chocolate. Fear renders me unable to taste, swallow, focus or sleep. Fear jangles through the cells of my body like a cold electrical current short-circuiting the natural flow of life." Read on, as she explains what caused her fear, and how she has learned to live with it.
The essay topics occasionally center on spirituality, and sometimes veer wide into topics such as do animals have souls, pain, and taking a sh*t. I think you'll like it!
Highly recommended.
So, when I encountered her book of essays entitled Seeking Enlightenment, I expected an unblinking journey through thoughtful questions demanding exact answers. I wasn't disappointed. Although sometimes I found the author raised more questions in the process.
Here you can find her thoughts on Vanity: "The rewards for being pretty are enormous. Pretty people earn more, have more friends, get called on more often in class and, yes even get better grades." And what happens to the rest of us? Ah, there lies the reward of her essay.
Or what three things never fail a girl? For Barr these are old Levi jackets, flip-flops, and girlfriends. And she proceeds to tell you why.
In an essay on fear, the author starts out by saying, "Fear is my least-favorite emotion, worse even than despair. At least, when in despair I can watch old black-and-white movies and each chocolate. Fear renders me unable to taste, swallow, focus or sleep. Fear jangles through the cells of my body like a cold electrical current short-circuiting the natural flow of life." Read on, as she explains what caused her fear, and how she has learned to live with it.
The essay topics occasionally center on spirituality, and sometimes veer wide into topics such as do animals have souls, pain, and taking a sh*t. I think you'll like it!
Highly recommended.
August 3, 2018
I love all of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series books; loved them enough to read them several times over. As a Christian, I always wondered if Anna Pigeon's strained disbeliefs were a spinoff of Nevada Barr's own.
I read through Page 94 before I could read no more. I gave up because many of the chapters left me confused. The cover story shares that it is "the beguiling story of her journey from arrogance and atheism toward humility and a sense of being part of something greater than herself." That is indeed a great thing. I was anxious to read how this came about for her personally
But by page 88, she is still making statements like, "Caring in its myriad forms gives my life meaning. Whether that meaning will outlive this body is of no relevance..." What?? As a Christian, outliving this body is what it's ALL about.
Perhaps others will find her spiritual growth helpful. And perhaps her real spiritual growth happens after page 94, and I just didn't read far enough. Sorry Nevada, but I'll stick to Anna Pigeon...I just love her to death.
I read through Page 94 before I could read no more. I gave up because many of the chapters left me confused. The cover story shares that it is "the beguiling story of her journey from arrogance and atheism toward humility and a sense of being part of something greater than herself." That is indeed a great thing. I was anxious to read how this came about for her personally
But by page 88, she is still making statements like, "Caring in its myriad forms gives my life meaning. Whether that meaning will outlive this body is of no relevance..." What?? As a Christian, outliving this body is what it's ALL about.
Perhaps others will find her spiritual growth helpful. And perhaps her real spiritual growth happens after page 94, and I just didn't read far enough. Sorry Nevada, but I'll stick to Anna Pigeon...I just love her to death.
March 14, 2018
This was an interesting and thought provoking book, but I thought the title was a bit misleading. Based on the "Hat by Hat" portion, I thought this book was more a comparitive about different religions. Shame on me maybe for not reading the book description more thoroughly but it was musings by the author on her transformation from an atheist to a christian. But other than the book not being what I originally thought it would be, I enjoyed the topics she discussed as well as they way she discussed them.
November 13, 2019
Thought provoking and relevant to our time.
I wanted to understand more from this former atheist turned Christian. I have read Origin and Sapiens, which support science over religion. I’m happy to have read Hat by Hat, which helps balance things out by sharing the author’s personal life experiences and why she believes that we humans have souls and a need for Religion, not just science.
I wanted to understand more from this former atheist turned Christian. I have read Origin and Sapiens, which support science over religion. I’m happy to have read Hat by Hat, which helps balance things out by sharing the author’s personal life experiences and why she believes that we humans have souls and a need for Religion, not just science.
May 4, 2019
Very interesting book! I’m don’t know that I am a religious person but I do consider myself spiritual and this book resonated with me! Life events that I question. I find myself thinking more about life and the what ifs and this book really helps me dig deep inside of myself. I am definitely putting this book on my shelf!
January 4, 2020
Loved it! I also came to church late in life so I could really appreciate the path she was on. Her honesty and desire to share all aspects of her journey were enlightening. Favorite quote, "Sins are simply really rotten ideas."
If you're not sure about Christianity, struggling with doubts or just want a great read, highly recommend this book.
If you're not sure about Christianity, struggling with doubts or just want a great read, highly recommend this book.
January 6, 2021
This book spoke to me
I liked that the book was thought provoking. Nevada Barr didn’t tell the reader what to think. She made statements from her own experience that caused me to think about my believe system and come to my own conclusions. It is well written and presented in a thoughtful way. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I liked that the book was thought provoking. Nevada Barr didn’t tell the reader what to think. She made statements from her own experience that caused me to think about my believe system and come to my own conclusions. It is well written and presented in a thoughtful way. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
March 21, 2019
I enjoyed reading about Nevada Barr's take on religion & all its facets. She presents a very down-to-earth view. I found myself agreeing with the majority of her thoughts & even arriving at some new perspectives myself. Worth the read.
March 2, 2017
A different look at Barr -- interesting !!
January 3, 2021
Enjoyed this book. Short chapters with thought provoking ideas about religion.
June 9, 2019
This book is written as a series of mini essays with each chapter featuring thoughts on a different topic. I found several of the essays insightful and found myself marking pages to return to later. Her perspective was unique and I appreciate that she took the time to record her thoughts about issues of faith and spirituality in order to share them with others. This was a quick read for me.
July 23, 2020
Ok, I actually didn’t finish this book, but still giving 3 stars. I love Nevada’s books, but this was way too religious for me. It’s nothing against her, her writing was good. Chapters were short quick reads, and mostly about life experiences and then tied to religion/God at the end of each chapter. But I just couldn’t get through it. Got about 80 pages in 6 weeks.
July 29, 2025
Like Ms. Barr, I am very skeptical about organized religion and the idea of any gods existing. However, I take my truths where I find them, and I found this book insightful and full of such truths. 4.5 stars.
November 14, 2017
I have enjoyed Barr's Anna Pigeon mystery series and happened upon this book at a library book sale. As with most essay books, I found some essays that I connected with and others that I didn't.
January 11, 2018
I enjoyed the introduction to this book, but it went downhill from there. Yuck.
February 22, 2020
A Spiritual diary of Nevada Barr as she moves from skeptic to unorthodox believer.
Read
July 18, 2021Meh.
February 27, 2023
Nevada Barr's observations and experiences with topics of faith contain some very thoughtful and thought-provoking observations.
March 25, 2023
Nevada Barr has many very realistic views on religion and why she believes. Believable.
October 3, 2023
A big fan of the Pigeon books, so curious as to what Barr had to say. These essays reflect her spiritual search.
November 15, 2013
While Nevada Barr began as a skeptic and traveled a path to religion, I began religious and traveled to skepticism; even so, I feel like a found a kindred spirit in Seeking Enlightenment ~ a spirit centered in love and pursuing truth with raw honesty and humor. I find many books on this topic to be either light-weight New-Age fare or burdensomely pedantic so Ms. Barr's work was a real treat as she addressed forthrightly the major issues in "right belief": God's omnipotence and omniscience in supposedly answering prayers and never giving you more than you can bear; the challenge of following what Jesus may have actually said as opposed to believing each tenet of the Nicene Creed; the fair-minded person's recognition that the Bible is filled with inconsistencies and outright horror; and Jesus' being a human to emulate rather than a God to be worshiped. She risked being eaten by the tiger and we all benefit from her risk taking. As a former Catholic, I appreciated her appreciation of the role of ritual and tradition in establishing a way of being in the world. In her chapter on stillness, Nevada Barr addressed one of my favorite topics: the truth that we cannot know God but through those gifts we have been given including our mind, heart, and senses in each moment in time as we experience it. She recognizes our relative unimportance in the universe but finds that truth liberating as the shackles of self-interest are broken and freedom is found in choosing the boundaries of embracing God as love. Highly recommended.
October 22, 2009
This was a take it or leave it book for me. A lot of the information I already knew or believed and it wasn't presented in any special way for me. Then a lot of the information just didn't sit right with me. In the end, I didn't even finish the whole book.
I think one thing that disturbed me the most was her chapter on Halloween. Although I agree that times today are likely just as dangerous as it was in the 60's, I do not agree that you should let your kids trick-or-treat ALONE! In fact, Mrs. Barr says that the incidents of rape, murder, abduction were even higher in the 60's and this was one of her reasonings in why kids can go out now just like they did then. Well did it ever occur to her that it was higher back then because parents were NOT as cautious as they are today. Bottom line, pedophiles are out there and Halloween is Primo Shopping night. Don't let your young'uns trick or treat by themselves b/c you think they need to take on danger by themselves! No, this doesn't sit right for me at all and was my ending point for the book.
I think one thing that disturbed me the most was her chapter on Halloween. Although I agree that times today are likely just as dangerous as it was in the 60's, I do not agree that you should let your kids trick-or-treat ALONE! In fact, Mrs. Barr says that the incidents of rape, murder, abduction were even higher in the 60's and this was one of her reasonings in why kids can go out now just like they did then. Well did it ever occur to her that it was higher back then because parents were NOT as cautious as they are today. Bottom line, pedophiles are out there and Halloween is Primo Shopping night. Don't let your young'uns trick or treat by themselves b/c you think they need to take on danger by themselves! No, this doesn't sit right for me at all and was my ending point for the book.
July 11, 2013
too early to tell, really. Nevada Barr writing on spiritual enlightenment? Just enough up my tree (and the price was right - 75 cents). Having a checkered career myself, much related to National Parks, Forests, Recreation Areas and now private wildlife sanctuaries, I took to Barr's work immediately (surprisingly her book about the Lincoln assassination and the Florida Keys stays with me longest). So if she could be doing all these wild half baked activities that inspired her books, perhaps she learned a thing or two on the way.
Her introduction about life in the south (which also parallels my own experience, having moved south a couple years ago to the bible-totingest down in the USA) and discussions about and with the Baby Jesus and God... she' got my attention.
That she does not have a perfect solution, has not mastered all the forms ... so much the better for a fellow skeptic
Her introduction about life in the south (which also parallels my own experience, having moved south a couple years ago to the bible-totingest down in the USA) and discussions about and with the Baby Jesus and God... she' got my attention.
That she does not have a perfect solution, has not mastered all the forms ... so much the better for a fellow skeptic
June 26, 2007
I have enjoyed the Nevada Barr mystery series for the fun summer read and when I saw that she had writtent his book I figured I would give it a try. The book is mainly short essays on topics ranging from addiction to children of god to forgiveness, etc.
I like her approach to spirituality and organized religion and have found readeing the essays gives me something to think about and a new way to approach some of the topics. I've slowed down, after initially reading right through and now read one and then wait a while before I read another.
I one issue I have with her - especially given her non-orthodox approach to religion - is that she only and always uss the male pronoun when speaking about God. I would be more comfortable with a gender-neutral approach and it would seem more consistent with the ideas she expresses in the essays I have read.
I like her approach to spirituality and organized religion and have found readeing the essays gives me something to think about and a new way to approach some of the topics. I've slowed down, after initially reading right through and now read one and then wait a while before I read another.
I one issue I have with her - especially given her non-orthodox approach to religion - is that she only and always uss the male pronoun when speaking about God. I would be more comfortable with a gender-neutral approach and it would seem more consistent with the ideas she expresses in the essays I have read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews