The Pearl of Great Price: The Spiritual Journey of a New Age Seeker to the Light of Christ and the Eastern Orthodox Church

Life is truly a remarkable experience and gift. Travel with me through my journey to find The Pearl of Great Price, that treasure of spirituality, which I sold all to obtain. The first part of my book, My Labyrinth, begins with the description of my family' search for a better life in America, and the rich spiritual and cultural heritage I inherited from my descendants. My journey continues, taking me away from that heritage, God and the Catholic Church into the seeming serenity and release from suffering offered by Eastern religions and the New Age. Eventually I begin to realize that majority of my seeking was in reaction to or avoidance of something, especially the Catholic Church, even Christianity in general, which is true for many seekers in our modern times. Unbeknownst to me, I was truly not choosing my path in life. Instead, my unconscious beliefs and my reactions to life, religion and God directed the choices of my soul and ultimately smothered my spirit. In Part Two of my book, The Battle for my Soul, I explain how I finally learned to trust others; eventually I could choose to be with God and the Church, responding to the love I found there, rather than my fears. The third part of my book, My Conversion, gives readers an in depth window into the process of conversion and the teachings of ancient Christianity while validating aspects of my former seeking. How profoundly God finds ways into our hearts through all the challenging events that befall us! I hope that my story will encourage you in your spiritual searching. As St. Matthew tells us, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." "If you don't believe in the reality of spiritual warfare, if you are convinced that miracles belong to a bygone era, or if you have always assumed that all paths to the Orthodox Church are basically the same, then you must read The Pearl of Great Price. The book is likewise a precious gem-a moving memoir that you are sure to treasure for its grateful testament to the grace of God. Bobby Maddex
Operations Manager, Ancient Faith Radio
Senior Editor, Salvo Magazine"
"In her insightful memoir, Polly st John-Hughes has given us an original view of Orthodoxy: one from the perspective of a practitioner of Eastern and New Age religions. The spiritual contest is powerful, and the goodness of our God evident, on every page." Frederica Mathewes-Green
Khouria of Holy Cross Orthodox Church
Author of Facing East: A Pilgrim's Journey into
the Mysteries of Orthodoxy