The Recovery of Ecstasy: Notebooks from Siberia

by: Dr. Sandy Krolick

Published by: Dr. Sandy Krolick

Reviewed by Alex McGilvery

The Recovery of Ecstasy by Sandy Krolic is a fascinating little book. It is Sandy’s thesis that because we are so focused on making tomorrow better, we miss living today. The problem with living for tomorrow is that it demands an acknowledgment that we will die. It is much better he says to take our meaning from the creative moment of our past. Looking to the story of our being allows us to live in the present moment.

The initial section of the book describes how Sandy Krolick always felt disengaged from the society around him. He attributes this reality to the heart condition that kept him from keeping up with the other kids. He continually asks questions about why we act the way we do. What is choice and what is culture?

From this stance he takes us to Siberia and introduces us to a people who are a great deal less comfortable that we are, but who are much more in touch with their lives. He suggests that we have much to learn about how to be in the world from the Siberians. They are a people who live in the moment, reserve their emotion and caring for their family and community. They are connected to the earth and each other in ways that people in the West have a hard time imagining.

n the third and briefest part of the book we are teased with the result of Sandy’s change in perception and orientation from his sojourn in Siberia. He describes a world in which the senses are fully engaged, especially those other than sight. Recognizing that we can’t just walk away from our technology, Sandy asks us to consider the cost of making technology the only measurement of human progress, especially the cost to our humanity.

Here is a book that is equal parts philosophy, love story, and vision of how we could live a more authentic and joyful life. It is well worth picking up and reading.

Dr. Krolick has spent many years traveling around the world, including parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. He and wife Anna recently returned to the US after teaching for several years in the central Siberian Steppe in Russia.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting point of view.

Author’s Web site: http://KulturCritic.com