Mary Me: One Woman's Incredible Adventure with God by Elizabeth B. Bristol takes readers through her spiritual quest, which she terms as weird because she did not fit into any church with her perception of God. She shares her experiences and stories through this memoir and shows what exactly took her closer to God and her unique adventures with Him. The memoir gives readers different ways of looking at God and His role in their lives. The author studied chakras, walked labyrinths, searched for a sweat lodge, made pilgrimages to Jim Morrison's grave, Loch Ness, and the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The author's words put God in a different light than what He is usually perceived to be. God is cool, and He is packaged in another way. He is gentle, never hurried, always present, and not judgmental or mean, but He is the ultimate friend one seeks.

Mary Me is all about finding the meaning and purpose of life, healing, redemption, and achieving incredible peace after hanging out with God. The author's different style of living, not fitting into any organized religion, and finally understanding the mysterious ways of God make this book interesting to read. Elizabeth B. Bristol is honest and straightforward while sharing her story about what made her take the spiritual path and use it differently. She shares her moments of frustration, challenges, adventure, toxic behavior and lifestyle unapologetically, while giving readers hope to make positive changes when they are facing adversities in their lives. I found the book engaging and the author's honesty is heartwarming. Her writing style is simple and neat, making the story tangible to readers and thereby making it easy to connect. I found myself looking at God in a different way after reading this book. The author made it so simple and uncomplicated.

Elizabeth Bristol uses candor, humor, and a conversational-style to tell her unconventional story: she was a young party girl addicted to travel, always seeking something bigger than herself until she realized the hole inside of her was God-sized. That's when the self-proclaimed agnostic's real struggles began.
-Holly Lorincz, Bestselling Author of Crown Heights


I met Elizabeth on one of her drives south. We became fast friends and worked together on several of Habitat's builds. She always has a story or three and she's not afraid to share the pain from her past with a level of honesty that takes guts.
-Linda C. Fuller, Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity International


This entertaining pilgrimage is full of quirky stories. It's deeply personal, but resonates with familiar spiritual wonderings we can all identify with. The "aha" moments are simple yet profound, dished out appropriately in a way that makes me shake my head and smile.
-Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary Inc.

The role God can play in your life if you will just listen to his voice.

This was and still is an incredible adventure with God. I think anyone searching for spiritual meaning or just plain struggling with life will find this inspiring. It could be a guidepost for listening to that still small voice within that sometimes has to yell at us to get our attention. And as you read Elizabeth's story you realize how often God had to yell at her to get her attention and how she learned to listen.
As the mother of daughters in her age bracket, it was too easy to put myself in her mother's shoes when Elizabeth took off for Africa or moved in with a boy friend. I worried and fretted and ached at the things she faced, the decisions she made. And I sighed with relief when she emerged stronger and wiser.

The book is honest (often painfully so), well written and to be recommended. I admire her journey and her courage at all she reveals.

Adventure story? Yes. Spiritual Memoir? Yes. Predictable? Not at all.

She says it best herself, “ I spent a good chunk of my life desperately trying to satisfy the longings of the bottomless pit inside. You know the longings I’m talking about”, Who doesn’t relate to that? Elizabeth shares her struggles, her travels and her unique path to filling that empty place inside. And what an adventure it has been! Her experiences have strengthened her belief that we all have our own personal path to a fulfilling life already written on our hearts, we need only to trust God to show us that path.

Healing for so many!

My kids laugh because I have five books on each coffee table and have yet to finish one. I fondly tell folks that I have developed AOADD-(Adult Onset Attention Deficit Disorder). Actually, most books do not keep my attention, or I gain something so phenomenal that I have to stop and ponder that phenomenal and fail to return to the book. The last book I can remember reading cover to cover was "Gone With the Wind." Elizabeth, you topped Margaret Mitchell with this book! I actually read it over a two day period- your story kept my attention and parts brought such nostalgia. More importantly, I bought a pile of the books to give to friends who experienced similar situations as you, but got stuck. I am hoping this will be the tool that gives them hope and the impetus to forge forward. I recently heard someone say that our mistakes do not stop God from helping us obtain our destiny. Our own shames, condemning thoughts and regrets are the deterrent, not God. This book is a wonderful testimony of the loving and redemptive nature of God and his loving patience along life's path. Thank you for writing this book and I pray many are healed and restored.

Elizabeth's honesty is refreshing!

Reading this book was a literary and emotional journey. Elizabeth allowed her story to expose her most private thoughts and memories and to be vulnerable with her readers. Her truth in the challenges she experienced getting to know and trust God mirrored my own in many ways, and the ability to celebrate her triumph at finally accepting Him was very special for me. She writes in truth and shares a willingness to expose her broken parts, her doubts, her struggle to give God control of her life and her challenges with submission. It was so very refreshing to have someone share that the journey with God is not easy or predictable but so worth all the struggles involved in finally accepting all that God is and has to offer. I look forward to the next release and to learning more about how God has impacted Elizabeth's journey through life.

Beautifully and honestly written memoir

What I liked most about Elizabeth Bristol's book: Mary Me is her writing style. I felt as if she was talking directly to me, sparing no emotions and honest to the core as to what was happening in her life. It was a page turner for me every minute of this read as she travels through across continents and meets all kinds of people and encounters a multitude of experiences ranging from the mundane to the spiritual. Kudos to this very promising best seller writer. Sylvie Heyman, author.

Great book! Well Written, real-life look into how life challenges connect the author to God

I really like the honesty and direct approach Elizabeth uses to tell her story about how God showed up in her life. She tells it like she lived it; the good, the bad, the anger, the joy and what was in her head at the time. She brings you along side her on her journey as she comes to know God through her life challenges. You can judge, disagree, agree or just relate to the challenges of her life. See and feel a unique "Fredship" unfold!

For me, it was a hard book to put down.

Interesting and Real Life Experience

This book was an extremely well written account of the author’s life journey to God and to the fulfillment of her faith. There were so many obstacles that she had to overcome, ones caused both by others and herself. The book is real. It is NOT filled with grandiose terminology and is NOT over the top in spirituality. The journey was long, interesting, loving, fun, dangerous and in some spots heartbreaking. I really recommend this book.

God does!

This book is not easy to read but begs to be read. Bob Goff says there are two ways to telling a story; one that puts us in the best light and one that can be an entryway into telling the truth about what God has been doing in our lives. This book is the latter. Despite knowing some of Elizabeth’s story, I raced through this book. I wanted to know what God would do next. I was also reminded of more painful points in my life and have started to ask God what I should do with these. Are you seeking God, do you want to know Him deeper, are you inspired by stories of how others have come to know Him, then come read this and join the journey!

A book that kept drawing me back

This story kept calling me back and I thought about it often between reads wondering where it would take me and what would happen next. A deeply personal and meaningful account of the authors literal and figurative growth in her faith as a somewhat typical teenager growing up in a small New England town to travelling the world in search of meaning and adventure, watching her faith evolve along the way - pretty much in spite of herself! The things that happen along this journey are intriguing, sometimes humorous and other times heart wrenching but all contribute to placing the author in a place she never thought she would be when the journey began! For those interested in adventure and spiritual evolution this book will not disappoint.

Timely, timeless, gritty, human and hopeful

Whether you are a Christian, agnostic or neither, click this book into your cart before you do anything else. Mary Me will take you on a trip that will astonish you, force you to think, bring you to tears and make you laugh. Edgy and honest, it reads like a picaresque novel. Don't buy Mary Me if you like sugar or artificial sweetener on a story of one person's search for meaning with her heels dug in all the way. Do buy it because it is timely, timeless, gritty, human and hopeful. Then bask in its warmth.

A coming-to-God story for everyone … believer and unbeliever

“I travel the world and the seven seas,
Everybody’s looking for something.”
Mary Me mirrors the universal quest of the familiar lyrics.

From the first page, Bristol pulled me in to her pain, seeking and love of adventure. Where would her quest take her? Would she survive her world travels, keep looking for love in empty relationships? Resolve her relationship with her eccentric father? Or would she find what she didn’t know she was looking for?

In an honest-to-god reveal of intimate and often glossed over abuse and betrayal in relationships and organized religion, Bristol tells her truth, raw and unguarded.

I turned each page of her coming-to-God story, and turned my own.

A modern day “Cross and the Switchblade”.

Just finished reading this - it was hard to put down! For those who have not yet found the peace of knowing God, this is so very inviting. For those who love the ones who are still floundering, it is encouraging. And for those who are already on the path, it is inspiration to go further into the relationship. I especially loved the way she shared the development of her prayer life - I want to talk with God like she does!

Elizabeth's story drew me closer to God.

Elizabeth's adventures in life and with God kept me riveted to her story and turning the pages. Sacrificially honest to eventually lead to the One who loves unconditionally and completely, she lays her life before us to see and hear the God who remained with her in spite of everything. I laughed and cried and walked with her through her struggles and heartaches. I really don’t have sufficient words to describe what God did in my heart through her transparency and message of grace, love, communication with God, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

"Mary Me: One Woman's Incredible Adventure with God" is just that! An adventure!

Elizabeth gives us a glimpse into a wild and crazy yet fulfilling adventure. She shares her love for traveling combined with her love for people as she embarks on this journey to find meaning in her life as she grows deeper in love with God. Over and Over He reveals His best for her.....and that is what she passes onto us ..... encouraging us to engage in the great adventure God has for each of us!

What an incredible story of God's redemptive love!

What an incredible story of God's redemptive love! The author is raw and real in telling her story, and truly doesn't hesitate to tell it like it is. This is a book that many who walked in the world without Christ until later in life can relate to. I couldn't put it down as she shared experience after experience of her incredible life of coming to Christ and then her ongoing walk with Him. I, too, wish she had gone on to tell about her time in Jericho and Mozambique and Jericho. Can we request a sequel?!

Riveting. Real. Raw. From the very first page, I found myself seated next to her, leaning in...

Elizabeth is a story teller, like a woman sharing around a campfire on the plains of Africa. From the very start I felt like a hitchhiker whom she'd picked up along the way, and she was about to share not only her meals, but all that she had, with me! I loved how she took us into the most vulnerable and painful areas of her life, as well as the grand adventures, even on the high seas!
The greatest part? She found that God was in each and every one of those places, and He wants to be found in our adventure too!

Sweet free spirit!

What a riveting read!!
I couldn’t put it down, I only wish she kept writing and told the parts about Israel and Mozambique!!

Wakes something within me

I love this book! I couldn’t put the book down and stayed up way too late too many nights. This book encourages my faith and wakes up something within me to find intimacy with Jesus. I know it’s possible!

A Pleasant Surprise

Knowing Elizabeth, I purchased her book to read in support of her efforts not expecting much but now I can say that I am truly glad I did! What a delightful tale of a person's journey through life which focuses on her spiritual side. This book is well written with humor and self-awareness. I did purchase it for friends to read also.

Masterful Storytelling! I couldn't put it down!

An incredible adventure of God's work in Elizabeth's life. Wow! Reading through the chapters was like enjoying exceptional conversation with a good friend. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

A easy to read search for God’s nearness

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful spiritual awakening. A turbulent and inspiring journey of body and soul as this young woman seeks her personal relationship with God. A great adventure story as she backpacks through Africa; incredible, personal honesty and the surprising peace of mind as she accepts the nearness of God and her own comforting relationship with Him. A story all ages can relate to. I bought several books to share.

Great read!

This story isn't just words on pages. It's passion and one person's story about finding hers with God. She takes on straight roads and curvy ones and back ones just to help us find our passion with God. Liz doesn't preach. She tells a story. Truths most of us would never say out loud. I admire her for this and her dedication in finding what she wanted and needed. Enjoy the ride, it's wonderful.

Open, honest and forthright

I don't think I've read a memoir or autobiography that had more honestly and openness than Mary Me. Ms. Bristol is truly an open book and she takes you to faraway places literally but also emotionally as she tackles some serious wounds while developing a very unique relationship with God.

Wonderful Read!

What a well written and inspiring story of a adventurous, loving and faith finding woman. A journey that grabbed me from the first page to the last. Can’t wait for book two!

This book recruits skeptics to want to join God’s team.

I enjoy books where you feel like you’re having a long conversation with a good friend. This book is courageously written with an authenticity that leaves you wanting to hear more of her story.

Encouraging. Simple. Powerful.

The author shows us that we don't have to do great things to be great. We are loved. Unconditionally. That is a powerful reminder.

Excellent

Powerful in so many ways. I will likely read again

She has quite the story is to tell and does so very well.

Well written heart wrenching story with great outcome!!

Real life story of transformation. Must read!

My Favorite Kind Of Memoir

My favorite kind of memoir. I love reading honest and open memoirs that share experiences similar to the ones I have with God. It reminds me that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That’s what Elizabeth Bristol provides.

She writes about how God found her even as she had turned away from Him and from organized religion. Something was missing. She traveled to find it. Then God showed up in her heart, not a geographic place. She finds He is the same God that most of us have come to know: gentle, kind, patient and present.

He leads her to a life she thought she would never want to live. A church lady. A missionary. Gotta love it. But He didn’t stop there.

The best part, as she says herself, is that she became more herself than before. She loves travel and adventures and that’s exactly what He gives her. Well written in an engaging conversational style, she doesn’t hold back from sharing her flaws and the darker parts of her life and how God heals those parts of her. Highly recommended.

By the way, I received my copy at no charge with a request but not a requirement that I provide an honest review. I'm happy to do so.

Conversations with God

After reading the last page, it felt like I came back from an adventure!!!! This peace of art is truly amazing, authentic, and straight forward. I honor Elizabeth for her open and truthful approach in sharing her life. No candy coated words, no beating around the bush, no euphemisms. Straight forward and real, showing others that they have a voice and that sometimes they don't even realize they gave it up! This is a 'one of a kind' book that touched and changed me in ways I am sure I still need to explore. Elizabeth brought God so much closer and made Him so much more real with her conversations with Fred. Said best by Elizabeth herself 'Sometimes it takes me a minute to get from knowing God's word to knowing God's love for me'.

Pure adventure... with a twist!

Elizabeth’s writing style makes this book so engaging, I couldn’t put it down. Her travels and adventures that she has had, encountering a gorilla, visiting a Pygmy tribe, I just kept wanting to read more and more. Through it all, she is able to vividly describe her thoughts and reactions in each moment so that we can almost imagine being in her shoes. She shares her personal struggles with issues such as date rape and abortion with sensitivity and vulnerability. And in sharing her personal struggles, the reader can see how God has been beside her every step of the way, as He is with each of us. Whether you already have a personal relationship with God, or are seeking one... or even if you’re questioning your faith, you’ll love reading this story!

A great read that is also impactful.

I'm in the middle of writing my own story and realized how different our styles of writing are, making me wonder if I was doing it "wrong" for a while! But Liz's story encouraged me to expect to hear from God more and to help people understand the conversations we have with Him. THANK YOU for sharing your life, your heart, and your God with us, Liz.

God loves you right now in the midst of all the mess!

Everyone’s journey to God is different. Elizabeth’s story is one so many people can relate to. Her honesty and transparency throughout the book draws the reader in by so many relatable feelings and experiences that not everyone has the courage to talk about. Come as you are! God loves you right now in the midst of all your mess! Thankyou Elizabeth for having the courage to spread that message to the many who need to hear it.

A Journey to and with God

Elizabeth was a girl of her times: running from authority, seeking her own life, and wanting it her way. Along the way, God intervened. Told with raw honesty, humility, and humor, Elizabeth tells her story of how God and she worked out a rich meaningful relationship. And that her relationship with God is for everyone. Sure to engage you, as it did me, it is a powerful story.

God’s amazing love!

Great read. As a Christian, I love to see God at work which is evident in this book. I would recommend this book to Christians and people seeking God. I think maybe a statement to prepare people who may be triggered due to a history of abuse would be helpful.

Amazing

You are an amazing person. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with all of us. I hope you continue to inspire us. Loves N Hugs.

This book is awesome! Enjoyed every reading of it. Very powerful .

Love reading this book may have to read one more time. Usually do when I enjoy a book. From my point a view well written. Hoping for book 2. ..will defentially get.

Wow

Quite a story...quite a life! Don't usually read this type of book; but I found it to read like fiction yet it's not! Wow.

I had the privilege of meeting Elizabeth Bristol a few years after this book ended. I remembered how every story she told made God seem so, so real and also closer than most of us have experienced. This book does the same thing. Written in a rambling, conversational style, the first half of this book reads like an adventure novel as Elizabeth seeks for fulfillment in life traveling abroad and out on the open seas. But when she meets Jesus, the adventures don't stop. She travels to Alaska where crazy things continue to happen. And her best friend, Fred (the name she often uses for God), hangs out with her and speaks to her through all of the good times and the hard times, helping her to name the lies that she's believed while reminding her always that she is deeply loved. I think I cried through the last few chapters, as I watched her do some really hard things as God helped her to walk back through her past and see it and herself the way God has always seen her. Beloved.

I received a free copy of the book from the author and have reviewed it willingly.

Elizabeth’s writing style makes this book so engaging, I couldn’t put it down. Her travels and adventures that she has had, encountering a gorilla, visiting a Pygmy tribe, I just kept wanting to read more and more. Through it all, she is able to vividly describe her thoughts and reactions in each moment so that we can almost imagine being in her shoes. She shares her personal struggles with issues such as date nt so that we can almost imagine being in her shoes. She shares her personal struggles with issues such as date rape and abortion with sensitivity and vulnerability. And in s and abortion with sensitivity and vulnerability. And in sharing her personal struggles, the reader can see how God has been beside her every step of the way, as He is with each of us. Whether you already have a personal relationship with God, or are seeking one... or even if you’re questioning your faith, you’ll love reading this story!

My beautiful friend's amazing journey with God
Reviewed in Australia on 29 November 2020
I have known Elizabeth for over 30 years and whilst I knew her story, I was unaware of the extent of the pain she had suffered and endured. When I met her she was a party girl, up for a good time. She has lead an amazing life and is truly an inspiration. Her faith has helped many people deal with pain including me. When she prayed for me , I had the most incredible feeling of peace, like a load had been removed from me. She has been honest and not sugarcoated her life and experiences, she doesn't pretend to have been an angel. She has shared her most intimate feelings and struggle with accepting God, to show us that we are not alone and if we accept God, he will love us unconditionally and not judge us, even when we question his existence and motives. Even if you are not looking for God, this is an inspiring story of faith and how searching can bring peace. I am proud to be a part of her life and story. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is searching for meaning in their life or those who just like a good story.

Reading Elizabeth Bristol’s memoir was a fun journey. I would describe it as a little bit of Blue Like Jazz and a little bit of Eat Pray Love. Many emotions were elevated within me as I read about her journey of discovering God and learning how to enjoy and trust her relationship with Him. She takes you into the midst of her wild adventures in multiple cultural settings, while including the relational stories that broke her, confused her, and built her along the way. She experienced difficult parental relationship, rape, relationship with a gay man, church abuse, imminent danger, fear, physical injury and rescue. I love Elizabeth’s humor and also her frank thoughts and genuine questions. I love the victorious story of how God pursued her and of her surrender to His irresistible love. Profanity shows up on some of the early pages and noticeably disappear afterwards. This was her choice to depict reality and to depict growth, I think. I know some people will struggle with that (I did, admittedly), but I encourage everyone to read this memoir to completion. Her wisdom and love for her Lord shines.

I don't think I've read a memoir or autobiography that had more honestly and openness than Mary Me. Ms. Bristol is truly an open book and she takes you to faraway places literally but also emotionally as she tackles some serious wounds while developing a very unique relationship with God

This memoir covers Bristol’s adventures as she unknowingly (at first) travels on the path to God. Her journey across continents, with fellow travellers, similar and different from her, is quite entertaining.
As Bristol’s nomadic life progresses in Africa, she begins to hear God speaking in the form of timely warnings that save her life many times. When she returns to the USA, she continues quite aimlessly although by then she wants to find God.

I like the honest, funny, and authentic way Bristol has presented her experiences. Unlike many Christian books or other books that share spiritual experiences, this book does not patronize or try to lead you to God, subtly or otherwise.

This book has it all—her trials, errors, triumphs, and failures, almost literally mixed with her blood, sweat, and tears. It is what she went through, it is what she learned. You can just read and enjoy or if you wish, take away some life lessons and profound truths from it.

Mary Me: One Woman’s Incredible Adventure with God added spice to my life as a Christian and made me reevaluate my own relationship with God. The determining moment in the book for me came after the author’s boat accident in the Caribbean when she thought she would die and she saw a vision of Jesus. Reflecting on the experience later, she sees herself in the story of the disciples in the boat in Matthew 8 who cried out to Jesus, “Save us!” In fact, she has been floundering in her life for a very long time. She sees that, like the disciples, she has lacked sufficient faith (Don’t we all?) Thus, the author embarks on a journey toward the One she had casually called “Fred.” She overcomes her earlier feelings of inadequacy, and, after traveling great distances, finds faith within herself. I found this book uplifting and would highly recommend it.

A Must Read. Elizabeth takes you on her journey in a way you can identify and relate to situations. She takes you to places describing Gods beauty and how she learned to trust him, walk with him and have a lasting relationship with him. She went from asking where was he to knowing he was there. The people he brought into her life and journeys he brought her through. Take a walk with her and find her story uplifting and encouraging.

Elizabeth is so honest and raw in her memoir. You can actually feel her vulnerability coming through the pages as she takes you around the Globe on her path to self-discovery, and ultimately her relationship with God.

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, this book will appeal to anyone looking to discover the life they were really meant to live!

This story isn't just words on pages. It's passion and one person's story about finding hers with God. She takes on straight roads and curvy ones and back ones just to help us find our passion with God. Liz doesn't preach. She tells a story. Truths most of us would never say out loud. I admire her for this and her dedication in finding what she wanted and needed. Enjoy the ride, it's wonderful.

It took me a little bit to enjoy the book, but found her conversations with “Fred” interesting and thought provoking. She makes having a personal relationship with God look easy, but it takes discipline. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Couldn’t stop reading this.

Wonderful book. I highly recommend it.

Absolutely enchanting!

Most original storyline!

lI really like the honesty and direct approach Elizabeth uses to tell her story about how God showed up in her life. She tells it like she lived it; the good, the bad, the anger, the joy and what was in her head at the time. She brings you along side her on her journey as she comes to know God through her life challenges. You can judge, disagree, agree or just relate to the challenges of her life. See and feel a unique "Fredship" unfold!

For me, it was a hard book to put down

Favorite book ever!

Simply beautiful character interplay.

This book was awesome!

A very moving book.

Enjoyable book, I recommend it!