Spiritual Rebel: A Positively Addictive Guide to Finding Deeper Perspective and Higher Purpose

Spirituality that draws on ancient wisdom and modern pop culture to help anyone connect with their true calling

"A lighthearted, upbeat take on questions that have churned within human minds for millennia."―Spirituality & Health Book Review

“With a balance of careful scholarship and refreshing irreverence, Spiritual Rebel offers a treasure map to the best of the wisdom traditions.”―Mirabai Starr, author of Wild Mercy

“A must-read for anyone seeking to find or deepen their spiritual path.”―Francesco Mastalia, author of Yoga: The Secret of Life

Bringing together insights from a wide range of traditions―from Taoism to Jediism to Yoga to Science to Christianity and more―Spiritual Rebel encourages readers to explore their own personal spiritual style and life purpose.

Mining the world’s philosophical, scientific, and wisdom traditions, Spiritual Rebel offers a three-week program of unconventional spiritual practices. Each day readers choose from a variety of creative activities to try out including forest bathing, meditation with animals, visio divina, kirtan, sacred reading, and visiting spiritually charged locations, just to name a few.

Throughout the book, Sarah divulges juicy tidbits from her own spiritually rebellious journey. A preacher’s kid originally inspired by the Force of Star Wars, she confesses her challenges with her birth religion, descent into addiction, and recovery into a life where everything can be sacred.

Combining pop culture with ancient wisdom, Spiritual Rebel draws on the interfaith wisdom of Wayne Teasdale, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Dr. Andrew Newberg, A.H. Almas, David Spangler, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Neil deGrasse Tyson, John Muir, Dr. Qing Li, Sarah Wilson, Leonard Felder, Deepak Chopra, Ram Dass, Diane Berke, Thich Nhat Hanh, Madeleine L'Engle, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Krishna Das, Phyllis Curott, Belden C. Lane, Albert Einstein, and many others.

An indispensable guide for seekers, those in spiritual communities, agnostics, atheists, mystics, and the spiritual-but-not-religious, Spiritual Rebel is for anyone who desires meaningful experiences without having to commit exclusively to one path or fear they might be “doing it wrong.” The diverse collection of interspiritual practices and resources will inspire the Force within you, by whatever name you call it.

Sarah Bowen is a multifaith spiritual educator and speaker, and an aspiring Jedi.

As a member of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary’s faculty, Spiritual Directors International, and several recovery communities, she seeks to help others connect with the higher power of their own understanding. Passionate about the world’s great faith traditions, Sarah is a graduate of One Spirit and has studied at Chicago Theological Seminary, Emerson Theological Institute, Chopra Center, and Omega Institute. She is especially interested in the intersection of animal welfare and spiritual values and a fierce advocate for all creatures, and she currently serves as an animal chaplain.

Before starting her spiritual journey, Sarah spent a few decades as a designer and brand strategist in New York City. Her first book, Void If Detached: Seeking Modern Spirituality Through My Father’s Old Sermons (Epigraph Publishing, 2017), has received several awards.

Sarah splits her time between New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen and the Hudson Valley, where she lives with her artist husband Sean Bowen, two rebellious black cats named Deacon and Buba-ji, Picasso the rescued goldfish, Max the squirrel, and a backyard full of yet-to-be-named critters.

Connect at thisissarahbowen.com or follow her on Instagram @modernreverend