Sophie Strand is a poet and writer with a focus on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, andecology. If you love Mary Magdalene and fondly remember Anita Diamant's The Red Tent, you are in for a real treat! Sophie's new book, The Madonna Secret, is a passionate retelling of the story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, rewilding the Gospels with the forgotten voices of defiant and oppressed women, the nature-based storytelling of oral communities, and the embodied eroticism of a lovable rabbi with appetites and desires, doubts and shame, and a playful sense of humor. Plus, his awesome mom – aka The Virgin Mary – is a raucous and wonderful surprise, giving big time Baubo of Greek myth vibes, (who in my mind could be played wonderfully by Shohreh Aghdashloo of The Expanse fame). In this conversation, we talk about what it's like to write about miracles while living with an incurable disease, (Sophie lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder - something that many members of the Numinous Network are all too familiar). We also discuss animism, magic, patriarchy, and the realness she brings to the landscape and the characters of her novel. Sophie's poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including Spirituality & Health, Atmos, Braided Way and Art PAPERS. The author of The Flowering Wand, she lives in the Hudson Valleyof New York.   Purchase The Madonna Secret anywhere(and please do leave a review!)   Follow Sophie: SophieStrand.com Her Substack Instagram Facebook   References in this episode: older Dev Patel Louis Garrel  Golshifteh Farhani (Oh now that I see who she is, I LOVED her in that dystopian show, Invasion) young Javier Bardem article about Bruce Chilton Bruce Chilton wikipedia Honi the Circle Drawer Hanina ben Dosa Contemporaries of Jesus who were miracle workers Mary Renault Mary Stewart   Learn more about the Numinous Network Sign up for my newsletter and join us for Free Week, Sept 17-23, 2023