Overview

Historically accurate, spiritually profound, and evocatively written, this fictional biography of Hildegard of Bingen offers an unforgettable encounter with the astonishing medieval nun, visionary and prophet, artist and healer, counselor of kings and popes, and composer of divine and long-lasting music. The story paints a vivid picture of the medieval world, and masterfully weaves in Hildegard’s own accounts of “the Living Light,” lending an air of authenticity to the narrative. This is an absorbing portrait of a spiritual leader who would become one of only 34 individuals—and one of only four women—to be named a Doctor of the Church and of a figure who shattered stereotypes of what it meant to be a woman and a scholar in the Middle Ages.

Reviews

"Hildegard of Bingen will rivet the modern reader with its masterly evocation of times and peoples past, of saints and sinners, abbots and popes, and the shadows of great monasteries spreading across the landscape."  —Eugene Kennedy, author, On Becoming a Counselor

"[A]n admiring, sensitive and richly detailed walk through the life and times in the footsteps of Hildegard of Bingen."  —Madonna Kolbenschlag, author, Kiss Sleeping Beauty Goodbye

"Ohanneson firmly anchors Hildegard of Bingen's life and prophetic witness in the historical events both religious and secular of 12th-century Europe, yet weaves for us a remarkable portrayal of a woman, deeply steeped through her visionary insights and mystic experience into the numinous feminine divine... Ohanneson evokes for us an intruiging, yet deeply moving characterization."  —Miriam Schmitt, coeditor, Medieval Women Monastics: Wisdom's Wellsprings

Author Biography

Joan Ohanneson was an author, a producer, a teacher, and an international speaker who lectured extensively on Hildegard of Bingen. She was known for her contributions in the areas of spirituality, sexuality, and women’s gifts.