Red Goddess Rising

Having been to Egypt and knowing the author it was accurate and I was able to review my trip. It was funny,witty and extremely accurate. Very evident is the way women are treated in Egypt. The author is extremely open about her personal life experiences and how these manifested in her trip to Egypt. Every chapter was exciting and full of interesting happenings.

Every journey begins with baggage, and this delicious travel memoir makes you want to pack your bag and get on the very next plane to Cairo. Halle Eavelyn tucks the reader into her pocket with vivid candid descriptive snapshots of her years of travel to Egypt. She transports us--one breathtaking and detailed image at a time-to the sacred temples, life-giving Nile, and mysterious pyramids. But the real treasure of the book is not its fresh take on an ancient land; rather, there is a deeper vein of gold--witnessing her unexpected spiritual transformation. Halle begins her travels to the land of the Pharaohs with hidden heavy "baggage" (she doesn't believe in God and is terrified of death). However, as she explores Egypt, she also she begins to explore, question, "unpack" and eventually release her fears. By the end of the journey, she is a free spirit, carrying only the passport of peace: a bedrock understanding of her soul's permanence.

_Red Goddess Rising_ is a totally modern, wry and unsuspecting pilgrimage. It's kind of like the person you wish would sit by you on a long overseas flight--funny, full of great stories, unpretentiously poetic, and very very wise.

Reading Red Goddess Rising is like touring your inner self. Halle points out the signposts on her personal journey and in that way reveals directions to her readers that may help them understand their own lives. Whether galloping across desert sands in Cairo or carefully climbing a narrow track up Mt. Moses on the back of a camel, Halle's adventurous spirit and enquiring mind carry us along with humor, song, and a never-ending flow of fresh insights.

She has made great friends on her travels and introduces them to us so that we are able to share her love for them. We meet a cast of characters that ranges from the boy in the market who is exaggerating his way into being an entrepreneur to the wealthy owner of the Afandina, the magnificent yacht on which we majestically sail up the Nile. En route we encounter all sorts of adventures not listed in the usual itinerary, adventures born of the wonderful people we meet and the fresh interpretations of the author in the land that has influenced all our lives in ways both beautiful and mysterious.

Glance through the chapter titles and you will easily see that you are about to embark on a most unusual journey through Egypt. Whether you think the Red Goddess of the title is Halle or Hathor, your enjoyment and understanding of the land of the Pharaohs will increase manyfold as mine did. RGR is a great read, an easy read, one that will warm you, heart and soul.