An American Covenant, Lucile Scott
An American Covenant, Lucile Scott
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An American Covenant
A Story of Women, Mysticism, and the Making of Modern America

Author: Lucile Scott

Narrator: Nicol Zanzarella

Unabridged: 9 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/06/2020


Synopsis

A history of mystic resistance and liberation and of five women who transcended the expected to transform America.For centuries, women who emerge as mystic leaders have played vital roles in American culture. For just as long, they’ve been subjugated and ridiculed. Today, women and others across the nation are once again turning to their mystic powers to #HexThePatriarchy and help fight the forces that seem bent on relegating them to second-class citizenry.Amid this tumult, Lucile Scott looks to the past and the stories of five women over three centuries to form an ancestral spiritual coven: Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans; Cora L. V. Scott, nineteenth-century Spiritualist superstar; Helena Blavatsky, mother of Theosophy; Zsuzsanna Budapest, feminist witch and founder of Dianic Wicca; and Marianne Williamson, presidential candidate and preacher of the New Age Gospel of Love. Each, in their own ways, defied masculine preconceptions about power.A scathing queer feminist history and a personal quest for transcendence, An American Covenant opens our eyes to the paths forged by women who inspired the nation in their own times—and who will no longer be forgotten or silenced in ours.

About Lucile Scott

Lucile Scott is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor. She has reported on national and international health and human rights issues for over a decade. Most recently, she has worked at the United Nations and amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and has contributed to such publications as VICE and POZ magazines. In addition, she has written and/or directed plays that have been featured in New York City, Edinburgh, and Los Angeles. In 2016 she hit the rails as part of Amtrak’s writers’ residency program. An American Covenant is her first book. She hails from Kentucky and moved to New York after graduating from Northwestern University.


Reviews

What a fascinating read this is! Scott has examined the lives of five American women considered mystics. You might be loosely familiar (or more) with one or more of them (Marianne Williamson and Marie Laveau were the two I knew). Scott has taken things a step further by adding context. Her personal......more

Goodreads review by Tamara

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book is written like a documentary. I wasn’t use to this kind of book/writing so at first it was slow for me. After getting use to it, it went a lot smoother and I really enjoyed it. She was very thorough in her research. I......more

Goodreads review by Ellie

I'm so moved by this book! I love the combination of forgotten women's histories, connections between mysticism and activism and her intimate personal stories. I'm into witchy things so I expected to love it, but I never planned to recommend it to my best friend who scoffs at all things occult! This......more


Quotes

“Journalist Scott delivers an in-depth look at five ‘feminist mystics’ from American history in her provocative debut…[and] reveals how the female leaders of these movements have risen to prominence and been repressed by the powers that be…In addition to biographical sketches of each woman, Scott provides the historical context for their movements, and details her own search for identity and spiritual solace amid personal turmoil…Scott writes with blunt honesty, a sharp eye for detail, and a strong sense of purpose. The result is an impassioned tribute to the perseverance and radicalism of female spiritual leaders in America.” Publishers Weekly“[An American Covenant]’s narrative is focused, its prose is sharp, and the timing of its release—on the eve of an election that has millions worrying over the nation’s soul—is impeccable.” Washington Independent Review of Books“This book is about another kind of sisterhood: the witchy kind. A reporter on human rights and international health, writer Scott brings her journalist skills to rendering the lives of five ‘mystic’ women who each shaped American culture in some way. Marie Laveau, Cora L. V. Scott, Helena Blavatsky, Zsuzsanna Budapest, and Marianne Williamson all spoke—and hexed—truth to power. Even though they lived over the span of 300 years and weren’t actually in a coven together, Scott argues that these five women all powerfully defied the patriarchy, and makes a compelling case for knowing their fascinating stories.” —Shondaland