Uploaded March 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Mirabai Starr writes, speaks and leads retreats on the inter-spiritual teach­ings of the mystics.
Award-winning author and speaker, Mirabai Starr, teaches about the interconnected wisdom of the mystics of all spiritual paths, contemplative life, and the transformational power of longing.

Known for her rev­o­lu­tion­ary trans­la­tions of John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and Julian of Nor­wich, Mirabai ren­ders mys­ti­cal mas­ter­pieces acces­si­ble, beau­ti­ful, and rel­e­vant to a con­tem­po­rary cir­cle of seek­ers. Her com­men­taries on the inter­con­nected wis­dom of all tra­di­tions are lyri­cal and evocative.

Mirabai builds bridges not only between reli­gious tra­di­tions, but also between con­tem­pla­tive life and com­pas­sion­ate ser­vice, between cul­ti­vat­ing an inner rela­tion­ship with the Beloved and express­ing that inti­macy in com­mu­nity, between the trans­for­ma­tional power of loss and long­ing for the sacred.

Endorsements


From the moment I began Mirabai’s personal story, I could not put it down. Though every word is the truth, her journey to becoming the brilliant mystic and writer she is today is as compelling and gritty as a great piece of fiction. I honor her for sharing her life so openly and so honestly. This is a magnificent mind-body-soul trek that really does lead to God.

~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Sacred Contracts

This is a wonderful and extremely moving book, by far the best memoir of loss and rebirth that I have read. Mirabai Starr has given us―in the plainest and most raw and pure form―the essence of what it means to transmute extreme suffering into new life.

~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

A life-giving story with strong narrative drive and humor thrown in at exquisite moments. Fine, detailed writing. A clear-eyed journey through the grief of loss and of youth snatched away too early. Starr has created a beautiful, inspirational telling of a life that speaks to us all.

~ Natalie Goldberg, author of The True Secret of Writing

An absorbing story of love and loss, Caravan of No Despair brings the depth of a mother’s grief and healing fully to life. Mirabai’s open heart and growing wisdom shine through the telling of her own story.

~ Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness

Love is a fire. Grief is a bellows that fans it to white-hot intensity. When that fire burns out, what’s left may be ashes and desolation. Or it may be the distilled incandescence of a soul. Mirabai Starr lives that inferno of grief and emerges annealed to a new alloy of spirit. She draws water from a well of love and compassion to temper the blazing sword of wisdom. She brings that wisdom―from saints like Saint John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila and Neem Karoli Baba―into immediate experience. Through her we see how one may barely begin to bear the unbearable. Mirabai’s memoir is poetry of the spirit, of a mother’s loss, and of the renewal of a heart’s connection beyond the body. She doesn’t paper over despair; she comes to terms with it. Caravan of No Despair is a rainbow tapestry of spiritual teachings from Christian mystics, Sufi poets, Buddhist monks, and Hindu gurus. Such teachings don’t end; they just keep on beginning.

~ Rameshwar Das, coauthor of Be Love Now and Polishing the Mirror (with Ram Dass)

So deep and real. Thank you, Mirabai Starr, for letting us share your journey through the darkness of despair into the open sky of love.

New Book: Memoir

Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation