An exhilarating memoir about one woman’s globe-trotting journey of inspiring awakening and self-discovery.Shaken by the loss of her father, drained by her job at the United Nations, and conflicted over failed relationships, Natasha Scripture asked herself the question at the heart of her anxiety: What is my purpose? The answer was not about finding love; it was about recognizing its source. The … recognizing its source. The result is Man Fast, a true and intimate spiritual detective story.
With courage, honesty, and wit, Natasha shares the story of her awakening. Starting with the decision to fast from dating, she embarks on a journey that takes her from New York to an ashram in southern India to toiling in a vineyard on Mount Etna to a solo safari in southern Tanzania. In stepping away from the modern demand to couple up, Natasha finally finds a reflective space where she can be fully aware: of her grief, of her identity, and of love as a mystical, ever-present force.
An antidote to a culture that prizes finding the right man, Man Fast is an emotionally charged journey that leaves us with a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Revised edition: This edition of Man Fast includes editorial revisions.
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I feel like this author is my kindred spirit. She poignantly writes about difficult topics many women feel, especially single women with a pension for wanderlust. I enjoyed reading Natasha’s spiritual (and global) journey immensely!
We all want to be part of a bigger story, something beyond ourselves that allows us to serve the world while finding personal fulfillment and a sense of wholeness and well-being. Natasha’s journey shows us how we can ultimately transcend the idea of wanting to give or receive love—to learn how to actually become love itself, to tap into a deeper wellspring of the love, wholeness and beauty that ultimately lives within, which connects us with the rest of existence. Written with authenticity, boldness, and vulnerability, this is a remarkable story of a truly remarkable journey within, of returning home to one’s own self. A powerful, poignant read.
Natasha Scripture’s quest for independence and self-definition in the face of pressure to conform to traditional ideas of femininity will be familiar to women everywhere. Presented with brutally honest and wry insight, Man Fast will provoke readers to rethink their choices in the best possible ways.
An engaging memoir with life lessons all along the way. Natasha is a great writer, and this is the kind of book you may find yourself staying up to read long into the night.
Utterly captivating! In her thirtysomething years on this planet, Natasha Scripture has lived many lifetimes—all of them juicy. As an international aid worker in some of the most devastated regions, Natasha shares highlights of a journey that sent her swinging between the upper limbs of adrenaline and compassion and descending into the sacred depths of grief and self-inquiry. A vital aspect of her self-directed vision quest was the practice of letting go of the search for conventional partnership in favor of fully showing up for her own true self. Smart, funny, and deeply wise.
Natasha Scripture takes us on a heartfelt quest to explore the meaning of love, in all its multi-armed wisdom and splendor. Her travels are varied and intense, but more so, her internal journey—circling around the world to find the truths within herself. Beautiful, honest, vulnerable, and compelling, Man Fast is a spiritual travel memoir for anyone who has chased after success and wondered if perhaps there was more to life and living.
Smart, searching, and soulful, Natasha Scripture’s Man Fast is an absorbing read for any woman thinking about a change of place, or heart. Exhausted and overwhelmed by her gut-wrenching work as a humanitarian aid worker in the most devastated places in the world— not to mention everyone’s expectations that she get married and have a kid already—Natasha takes a sabbatical, and a break from men. Her travels span many exotic countries—India, Tanzania, Italy—as she searches to find herself at home and at peace with herself. She’s an engaging guide for a spirited and spiritual journey.
Natasha writes beautifully about the challenge of choosing not to look for love after being exhausted from the search, all the while wondering if not looking for it will be exactly what brings it. Accepting that which, deep down, feels unacceptable, and coming to peace with what one gives up by choosing one extraordinary path over another. This book made me think about quitting my job and moving to Yemen, but also left me wanting to squeeze my two-year-old.
I was immediately absorbed by this raw, self-aware and humorous book. Natasha Scripture takes us on an emotionally charged journey, and leaves us with a greater understanding of ourselves and the world. Man Fast is a book for anyone who has worked through unmanageable grief and come out the other end.
Man Fast is a delight: honest and funny, truth-telling and wise. And it’s a salve and a guide for any of us who are questioning who, how, and when to date or marry. Scripture reminds us that it’s simple: look inward and you will find what you need.
A funny, courageous, and inspiring memoir about one woman’s journey into the unknown. Scripture shows us her unraveling against the backdrop of exotic landscapes and emerges from her grief-stricken journey with a new sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of love. It becomes impossible not to root for her.