Spiritually Incorrect: Finding God in All the Wrong Places

Spirituality is full of rules. You need to find your own way straight through them.
Will tattoos and convertibles keep you from finding "true" spiritual fulfillment?

Some people claim that you cannot truly achieve spiritual fulfillment if you’re not a vegetarian. Some say you’ll never find the path if you don’t learn yoga. And some would insist that any display of vanity―cosmetic surgery! hair mousse!―is a sign that inner peace is way out of your reach.

With great candor and humor (much of it irreverent!), Dan Wakefield’s Spiritually Incorrect shows that there are as many ways to find spiritual fulfillment as there are individual seekers. Part memoir, part essay, part whimsical illustration from his own life, Wakefield’s reflections break down the barriers that lie in the way of spiritual fulfillment, showing you that rules were made to be broken, and how it’s possible―and imperative―for you to discover a rewarding spiritual life that fits your own personality, your own path.

In this age of political correctness and watching what we say, award-winning author Dan Wakefield dares to ask the risky (and sometimes hilarious) questions about spirituality:

• Why is poverty sacred, wealth profane?
• Can a coffee house be a sacred space?
• Does yoga make you a Hindu?
• Can a man pray in public and still be "macho"?
• Does eating a steak really taint your soul?
• Who in our lives and our modern day world deserves to be canonized as a saint?

Wakefield’s creative exploration of these questions is a quest to free the spiritual world from pretension, anxiety, and the seemingly endless rules that can dictate how you identify (or don’t) with religion. Humorous stories from his own spiritually incorrect journey to God punctuate Wakefield’s ultimate revelation that spirituality is not about conforming to a set of rules, but rather discovering the practices that uniquely work for you.

Dan Wakefield is a novelist, journalist, and screenwriter. He has won a Rockefeller grant for creative writing and a National Endowment of the Arts Award. He is the author of many books, including The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography (Beacon Press) and Returning: A Spiritual Journey (Beacon). Wakefield is also author of "Spiritually Incorrect," an ongoing Beliefnet.com column. His memoir New York in the 50's is now a documentary film showing on The Sundance Channel. His novel Going All the Way was turned into a movie starring Ben Affleck. Dan Wakefield can be contacted at www.DanWakefield.com.

Marian DelVecchio is staff artist for the Miami Herald. Her weekly feature, "A Different View," is seen by millions of readers each month.