I frequently find myself inspired by the books I read, and sometimes, a good memoir can even encourage my wanderlust.  I wanted to share three titles with you today that have me itching to get up and go experience the goddesses of these places:

Savage Breast by Tim Ward

With a wonderful narrative voice, Ward blends myth and history with his own personal quest, pursuing the vestiges of goddess culture from the Minoans to the Anatolian plains. Each chapter focuses on a certain goddess and her culture, and Ward's work is richly informed by archaeology and Jungian principals. Ward is brutally honest in his writing, including pieces of his own fragile soul in the telling. What emerges is an excellent work, part research and part memoir, examining the widespread yet vastly different goddess of ancient times. Through his fiance and other women in his life, Ward also learns to see the ancient archetypes play out in the modern world.

You could plan countless trips after reading this book, but the location Ward visits that has skyrocketed to the top of my to-visit list is Santorini.  So much beauty; so much power; I can't wait to have my own experience there some day!

Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

This mother-daughter travel memoir is a powerful, emotional read.  When Ann and Sue first travel to Greece together, Ann is in the throes of a "quarter life crisis", feeling like she's lost herself somewhere along the way to her still new adulthood, and her mother is on the cusp on menopause.  Their very different but shared experiences lead them to visit sites in Turkey and France which tap into the force of the divine feminine, and both women are transformed by their journeys.  As soon as I finished this book, I passed it on to my mother, telling her that I not only wanted her to read the book; I wanted her to travel with me somewhere one day.  Last year, we made that dream a reality (but that'sa post for another time).

Desert Priestess by Anne Key

In her memoir, Key recounts the three years that she served as the chief priestess at the Temple of Goddess Spirituality. This temple is dedicated to the Egyptian deity Sekhmet, and it sits in truly liminal space. Just outside of Las Vegas, bordered by a bombing range and a nuclear test facility, Key learned what Sekhmet's myths mean in the modern world.  I can't wait to take a trip to Nevada and visit this temple!

What are some of the books which inspire your wanderings?