"Too much writing on religion comes from the head; Standing in the Light comes from the heart. Instead of defining and defending pantheism, Russell commends to her readers a pantheist's life - one lived in awe of a creation where the divine is all and everywhere and no reader is outside of its reach. Though the book ranges form Spinoza to the sandhill crane, from the Quakers to goatwalking, it is in the end an elegant meditation on what it means to inhabit a world where nothing is profane, a testament to the power of stories - not least, this one - to bend us in the direction of God, which is to say toward our truest selves."

"Sharman Apt Russell went back to the land, moved into town, wandered into the desert again, and literally kept reading every step of the journey, her nose in a book as she explored the mesas and riverbeds of New Mexico. The result is this wondrous meditation on philosophy as a practical concern and the desert landscape as a spiritual calling. Apt Russell calls her religion Pantheism: I call it beautiful prose, filled with wisdom and populated by songbirds, heretics, wild pigs, philosopher-kings, and cottonwood trees."

"A deep reverence for nature shines throughout Russell's rich, enjoyable text."

"The uniqueness of this book... lies less in its lyrical passages - which sometimes evoke the early Annie Dillard - than in its concise and readable summaries of pantheistic thought, especially that of Marcus Aurelius, Giordano Bruno, Baruch Spinoza and Walt Whitman. Russell's faith is all-embracing but unsentimental."

"Russell has written discerning and poetic books about butterflies, flowers, and hunger. She now breaks new ground in this spiraling history of pantheism, an essential if overlooked tributary to the great river of spirituality. Russell defines pantheism as 'the belief that the universe, with all its existing laws and properties, is an interconnected whole that we can rightly consider sacred'. Accordingly, the structure of this meditative and gracefully informative book embodies interconnectivity. Russell presents fresh and affecting profiles of key figures in the evolution of pantheism, such as Marcus Aurelius, Giordano Bruno, Baruch Spinoza, and Walt Whitman, and chronicles her own revelatory experiences in Guatemala, India, and her home base, New Mexico's Gila Valley, where she observes sandhill cranes and javelinas and helps band birds. As she tracks the profound influence pantheism has had on diverse religions, deep ecology, the romantic poets, and the transcendentalists, Russell recounts her decision to become a Quaker and her realization that is she, at heart, a 'scientific pantheist.' Ultimately, Russell's probing and illuminating inquiry into pantheism renews our appreciation for the complexity and wonder of life. Rhapsodic and expansive, this is a timely and salutary inquiry"

"[An] elegant meditation... Ms. Apt Russell scoops every morsel of interest from her subject. She also writes beautifully. Not surprisingly, this produces a feast."

"Russell's writing is luminous."

"This is a fascinating, gentle, and quite disturbing book…a tender and remarkable attempt to bring about an imaginative understanding of the poverty we would all like to make history. It is a book which should be read."

"Fascinating... This rather grim subject comes to seem profound, thanks to Russell's ruminative prose style and keen intelligence."

"This book is a sensitive work that both informs and calls to action. It shows a deepening and expansion of Russell's work as she examines, in part, what it means for us to be human."

"Extraordinarily well-crafted, far-reaching, and heart-wrenching investigation."

"A singular work of art, with its smooth, ethereal prose and series after cascading series of astonishing lore."

"A masterpiece of storytelling."

"Russell's skill as a writer is the alchemical goal that lifts this already intriguing compendium of facts to the level of art."

"Russell has done a wonderful job of gathering up bits of lore to brighten up her account…all of which makes for fascinating reading."

"Elegant."

"With the allure of a poet and the clarity of a scientist... Russell contemplates the beauty and function of flowers."