A dazzling novel of passion and spiritualityathe instant blockbuster bestseller from the author of "The Secret Life of Bees" Sue Monk Kiddas phenomenal debut, "The Secret Life of Bees," became a runaway bestseller that is still on the "New York Times" bestseller list more than two years after its paperback publication. Now, in her luminous new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans. Telling the story of Jessie Sullivanaa love story between a woman and a monk, a woman and her husband, and ultimately a woman and her own soulaKidd charts a journey of awakening and self-discovery illuminated with a brilliance that only a writer of her ability could conjure. aBook clubs, start your engines. . . . "The Mermaid Chair"] is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss.a "aUSA Today" aThe pages all but turn themselves.a "aParade" aSoulful in its probing of the human heart.a "aSan Francisco Chronicle" aKidd draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldnat see, and might not have the guts to follow.a "aTime" aItas hard to put this book down for things like eating and sleeping.a "aElle"