There were a few weeks of summer left and that meant one thing for me: time to get in at least one chick-lit novel while lounging in a beach chair and sipping a cool, refreshing drink. I want to go on the record to say that I don’t take the term chick-lit as derogatory; there comes a time when you just need something fun, light, and entertaining, and this year mine came with the added bonus of spirituality, courtesy of Meryl Davids Landau and her first novel Downward Dog, Upward Fog (DDUF). Meryl stopped by the Daily Downward Dog (DDD) a few months ago and sent me a note asking if I would take a read of her book, and I’m glad she did.

This tale is about Lorna, a thirtysomething special-events coordinator for an ice cream company (cool job!), with a large circle of gal pals, a hot boyfriend, and a beautiful home. It appears she has everything, including the required plot tension of a mean-spirited mother, but even with all that, her life is feeling a little empty. No worries; she has the extreme good fortune of finding her spiritual path through a feel-good new age radio host, an awesome big sis with an extensive new age library, and the discovery of how cool it can be to practice yoga and meditation.

Yep, Lorna goes on an awesome yoga journey and starts to figure out the important things in life via her yoga mat, a few self-help books, and a burgeoning meditation practice. Through Lorna’s eyes, I recognized glimpses of my own early yoga journey, struggling to quiet my mind during meditation, letting go of judging myself and others, and wondering if I would ever get vertical in a headstand. As I read through the book, quite a few corners got turned down as I found passages that moved me. I’m not a big fan of the law of attraction, but I do believe that what you give is what you get, and Lorna became a shining example on how putting forth a positive attitude, opening your heart to others, and putting your dreams out into the universe can bring beautiful life-changing results.

One of my favorite parts of the book was reading about Lorna’s experience at a silent weekend yoga retreat, and even though I can’t imagine how I could ever possibly live through such an experience, I am now curiously intrigued by the idea! (Anyone know a good silent weekend yoga retreat I can attend?)

Of recent, I do feel that a lot of books are homing in on the popularity of yoga and sensationalizing the more extreme yoga practices. I’m not quite sure if it is just for effect, but the thing I loved about DDUF is that it just plain tells the story of one woman’s spiritual transformation in a nonsensational way. Not everyone has to travel to India and drink urine to find their spiritual nirvana; believe it or not, you can achieve Samadhi quite nicely on the comfort of your yoga mat in Hoboken (or Akron).

I’m not a fan of sugarcoated books that end with a big ol’ red ribbon to tie up all the loose ends, but I’m gonna give Meryl a little break for that and just say that yes, there is a little bit of sugary cheese in this read. But don’t let that stop you from diving in for some yogic fun. Downward Dog, Upward Fog will provide uplifting moments for any woman that has come to yoga and discovered that it is so much more than just the stretching.

If you are in a book club this book would not only make a nice pick, but also lead to some spirited conversation. Meryl has even included a list of questions for book club discussions at the end of the book. Whatever your reason to pick up this book, you will enjoy hanging out with Lorna and going on her spiritual joyride.