Stalking God: My Unorthodox Search for Something to Believe In

Anjali Kumar writes about the catalyst to seeking more answers about spirituality and religion, as giving birth to her daughter, and wanting to have answers for her, when she inevitably asks the big life questions about the existence of God and the afterlife. For me, this quest for meaning came when I lost my uncle, whom I was extremely close with, to pancreatic cancer 2 years ago. I remember the anger I felt when people approached me at his funeral, noticing my intense grief, and attempted to explain to me that this was "God's plan," and I should trust it. What?? How can a supreme being have it in their plans to rip my uncle away from me? How can it be some grand plot to take a man filled with joy and life, and have it come to an end at the young age of 50? It infuriated me. As time passed, I found myself growing angrier and angrier, until this rage manifested in my everyday life, snapping at my loved ones and growing to be less patient at work, or even with myself. I wanted SOMETHING, anything, the belief that I would one day see my uncle again in some beautiful paradise, to just ease the pain. But try as I could, there was no genuine belief. Only longing. That's why I picked up this book. I understood Anjali's need for meaning, and I truly appreciated every single step of her journey. I was surprised, but intrigued to find that she didn't seek traditional, organized religious experiences, but more unorthodox ones. I learned a lot about other customs and beliefs, some I had never heard of. The lessons she learned in each experience were small, but meaningful and powerful in their simplicity. My only criticism with the book, for the sake of feedback, is that it can feel difficult to relate to Kumar's story, who clearly has the financial privilege to travel to different states and countries for these experiences. Not to mention the time off from work, that many of us do not have. An experience like this would be significantly more difficult for the average reader. However, this is eased by Kumar's chapter about finding spiritual resources online, and also the appreciation for her message, even if the traveling is not attainable. I find that I was still able to fully absorb and appreciate her ideas, and that they could still be applicable to me in my everyday search for meaning. You will laugh (Kumar's humor is fantastic), think, appreciate other cultures and ideas, and find answers to your own big questions about what we are "supposed" to know the answers to, and what should just be felt within ourselves. I feel so much better about meaning and spirituality after reading this book. I don't want to give away the main spiritual takeaways or her final "conclusions," but I feel that everyone in need of searching will seek comfort in knowing that they have the power to make ANY experience, a spiritual one. All we have to do is believe, not in a god necessarily, but in our own abilities to make our lives meaningful.

I think so many of us are spiritual but have had difficulty relating to organized religion. This book is a wonderful journey through a potluck of alternative spiritual experiences that many of us wished we had time to have pursued ourselves. The author is funny, silly, smart and infectious. You feel like she is talking to you and you don't want to put the book down because she is thinking and saying all the things you have experienced in your own journey but you can't talk about it with anyone for fear that most of your friends and colleagues will think you are nuts. This book makes you long to have a friend like this author and it makes you realize that there are a lot of people like you on a nutty spiritual journey that are just waiting to have a deep conversation.... so you don't feel so alone.

Reads too much like a textbook. It is all relevant but didn't keep me engaged. It would be nice to have the ability to do it all.

Anjali Kumar's book is insightful, funny and well written.If you are looking for a spiritual or religious scholar work, this book is not meant to be that. This book is a more of a serious but light recount of Kumar's personal journey to find answers to questions we all ponder. The experiences, revelations and inner voice thoughts that Kumar shares make this a great read. I've caught myself laughing out loud more than a few times and have had a hard time putting the book down.

Stalking God is Kumar’s telling of a variety, a great variety, of brief spiritual / religious experiences she sought out. The actual experiences themselves, rather than deeper spiritual meanings, are the core of the book, though, of course, deeper (slightly) topics are covered as well. Kumar also brings up science relevant to some of the experiences she had. The writing style is like talking with a friend. Breezy, humorous, not deep, but with some insights. Wordier than it needs to be. I love the open-mindedness with which Kumar looks at the various spiritual / religious practices and beliefs. She wisely points out, “how difficult it is as an outsider to come to terms with what are easy to perceive as the odd behaviors and strange beliefs of “other people.” This occurs even when those people would likely perceive our own off behaviors and beliefs as equally peculiar. And this is mainly because as outsiders we have no idea what those behaviors and traditions stand for or mean.” Because of this open-mindedness, Kumar is able to offer a real look at how true believers in the various spiritual traditions perceive their experiences, beyond Kumar’s own experiences.

This book was not just informative, it was thoughtfully written and amusing to boot. For a "none" like myself, who wishes to find the benefits that spirituality provides to so many-serenity, happiness and sense of community-this book gave me some useful tools to use for myself. It also served as a reminder that we are all more similar than we are different, which provides a sense of comfort to me in a world that seems to grow more and more divisive.

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in practically one sitting. Anjali’s writing is insightful, entertaining and a delight to read. Reading her book felt like being told an amazing story from a friend. A true pleasure from start to finish!

Anjali is a wonderful storyteller with the ability to take contemplative topics we have all thought about at some point in time, research them thoroughly, and share them through her own personal journey with a lightness, humor and authenticity that transports the reader. Highly recommend the book if you are in search of a higher purpose that connects us all.