Foreword Reviews: An ideal guidebook to facing the inevitable.

USA Today: What You Can Learn From Traveling With the Grim Reaper

Library Journal: This book’s journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking. (starred review)

Foreword Reviews Author Interview with Lori Erickson: Death-phobia Defier

Cover Story and Excerpt in the Christian Century Magazine: We need to talk about death

Excerpt on PBS-affiliated Next Avenue: An Afternoon in a Cemetery

Frommer’s Travel Show on Radio America

Toronto Globe and Mail excerpt: Life, Death, and Meditation Among the Mayan Ruins

Iowa Public Radio Interview: Considering Death Across Cultures

East-West News Service: Life Affirming Travel Through the Shadow Lands of Death

“Near the Exit is a delicious, funny, and quite moving read. Part actual travelogue, it’s also a spiritual exploration of death. The writing is stellar; the reflections on the unexpected nature of grief and the way Lori Erickson plumbs ‘seeming coincidence’ grabbed my attention and didn’t let it go. Highly recommend for people of any or no faith practice.”
—Jennifer Grant, author of Love You More and Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too

“What happens when a gifted travel writer combines her interests in travel, religion, and death? The result is a fascinating book called Near the Exit, with trips to Rome, a Day of the Dead celebration, pyramids in Egypt and Mexico, nursing homes, a Maori ceremony in New Zealand, a farm in Iowa, and more. Beautiful writing about a trip we all will someday take.” —Brian D. McLaren, author and activist

“Near the Exit explores a wide range of sacred sites—from the exotic (and musty) pyramids of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings to the Iowa nursing home where Lori’s elderly mother navigates the labyrinth of dementia—all characterized by a light-hearted and curious inquiry about what death means in various cultural and spiritual contexts. As one who has been hanging out with the Grim Reaper more than I care to lately, I took this book in like a breath of fresh air.” —Kate Sheehan Roach, Director of Content, ContemplativeLife.org

Foreword Reviews: The respect that Erickson evinces both for the God of her chosen tradition, and for the gods that came before, is scintillating. (Finalist for Travel Book of the Year in 2017)

Publishers Weekly: Whether describing mystical visions or the rhythms of everyday life, Erickson turns the spiritual journey into a series of exciting transformations. (starred review)

Chicago Tribune: Erickson is at turns irreverent and devout. She spins a fine yarn and weaves in a mighty dose of insight along the way.

Los Angeles Times: Thanks to a man I never met, my soul found its way back home

USA Today: Modern pilgrims: More people are traveling for spirituality

PBS-affiliated Next Avenue: Why Making a Trip to a Holy Place May Change Your Life

Iowa Public Radio’s Talk of Iowa Program

“With grace and wit, Lori Erickson takes us on a pilgrimage to sacred sites around the world. In each location, Erickson reveals a bit more of her own spiritual journey, of her own exploration of the deeper mystical meanings that underlie all faiths. Through her own quest, she becomes a healer and a wise woman, and she invites us to follow her visionary path.” —Mary Swander, author of The Desert Pilgrim: En Route to Mysticism and Miracles

“Lori Erickson is just the sort of person you want to take with you to some of the most spiritual places on the planet. Whether on the scent of Luther in Germany, delving for elves in Iceland, or tracing the footsteps of St. Columba on the island of Iona, Erickson enlightens and informs us as she connects each pilgrimage to her own personal story. Her honest, wise, and humorous prose makes her zigzagging journey, and its search for spiritual truth, our own.” —James Harpur, author of The Pilgrim Journey: A History of Pilgrimage in the Western World

“Lori Erickson’s sense of adventure and sense of the sacred as well as her open spirit and love of life made me grateful to follow her wherever she went. Lively prose, rich descriptions, and anecdotes that are in turn poignant, funny, and mysterious all combine to make this a wondrous journey.” —Rivvy Neshama, author of Recipes for a Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles