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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Emily Scialom’s debut novel, “The Religion of Self-Enlightenment” (The ROSE), explores a man’s spiritual awakening and the quest for religious harmony, gaining cult classic status with a passionate following.
Written by Emily Scialom
Since its release in 2016, The Religion Of Self-Enlightenment (The ROSE) has become a cult classic novel which continues to chart a positive trajectory. This profound and “life-changing” (reader review) tale explores the mutating beliefs of a young man named Carrick Ares. Initially, Carrick is a proudly boring individual who doesn’t believe in anything outside of the tangible realm of the physical world. However, his outlook changes dramatically following a near-death experience in a car accident at the age of 29. After psychologically unravelling, Carrick believes rightly or wrongly that he has found the answers to the meaning of life and formulates a new religion.
The ROSE contains this new belief system in its entirety. The primary themes include the pressing need for religious harmony, the propensity for individual confusion amidst the vast array of human philosophies and the power of love to heal our internal and external worlds. The theological chapters of the novel begin with a discussion about the language of faith, describing how words such as “truth” and “lies” are poorly defined, polarised and have no middle grounds, which makes discussing beliefs problematic. The focus then shifts to explore how and why belief systems formed and the chaos which has resulted from painfully discordant theories of life combining. Culminating in an exploration of ancient Eastern theories such as karma, reincarnation and enlightenment, this is the literary portrait of a young man on a passionate quest to harmonise pre-existing spiritual frameworks.
The ROSE not only discusses the formation of human religions to date, but also suggests how it may be possible to synthesise these seemingly disparate theories into a peaceful new understanding of existence. This is a novel which aims high but does not fall short of its mark: it is a remarkable work of fiction that has changed my life as well as the lives of almost a thousand readers to date.
As it took eight years to complete, I consider The ROSE to be not only a labour of love, but also my literary magnum opus. Having dabbled with poetry and lyricism in my youth, the first line of my debut novel came to me when I was working at The Granta pub in Cambridge in June 2008: “He was the kind of person who has forgotten why he is here.” It was, I felt, a strong statement which required elucidation: what had been forgotten, how had this sense of purpose been lost, and would this misplaced knowledge ever be adequately recalled?
Thus began a creative journey which would result in my own sanity being challenged, my identity being elevated, and my dreams being overleapt. Although preliminary copies were available in 2012, it was finally edited to my satisfaction and released in its current form during the turbulent year 2016. By late-2018 it had been declared “a cult sensation” by the Cambridge News, which was particularly touching because this popular regional newspaper was my first employer. In the years since then That’s Cambridge TV, When Women Inspire, The Oracle and The Table Read Magazine have all echoed this sentiment; I am confident with its small but passionate following The ROSE has now established itself as a modern cult classic.
To reinforce this idea, it recently featured in a billboard campaign in Times Square, NYC. On September 7th 2024, an advert was aired on rotation all day on Broadway in the American capital. This thrilling scene will be repeated on November 28th. I was approached by a US company called EC Publishing, who wished to promote The ROSE Stateside and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to connect with new readers – seeing my name up in lights was a dream come true!
As well as recently featuring on BBC Radio Somerset, in the Somerset Live newspaper and on an Australian podcast called Awakened Woman, I will also be presenting my oeuvre to the good people of Glastonbury at 6pm on October 28th in the Avalon Room of The Goddess Temple. I plan to speak about my miraculous literary journey to date, focusing on The ROSE as well as touching upon my six other releases
It is beyond exciting for me to be hosting a book talk in Glastonbury as I will always consider it my hometown. Despite being born in London, I do not recall another place called home until I moved to Cambridge aged 12. Through my exposure to the ancient wisdom contained in the history of Glastonbury and growing up around the kinds of intense spiritual seekers who are drawn to this sacred region, the genesis of The ROSE was formed. I feel in a sense that I have combined the spiritual and mythological wealth of my childhood setting with the academic and literary excellence of Cambridge, where I have been based for nearly three decades.
Ultimately, The ROSE encapsulates my firm belief that so long as we are not hurting anyone – ourselves included – we should be totally free to experience life on Earth as we see fit. It is for us to decided whether we worship Jesus or Ganesh, if Heaven is a state of mind or a physical destination, whether God is a process or a Zeus-like warrior of love. Trouble too often occurs when internal beliefs are forced upon others: this is something The ROSE argues passionately against.
Given the current religious turmoil evident across the world, there is arguably no better novel to speak to readers about how to navigate the challenging obstacle course of spiritual beliefs. However, far from being a dictatorial offering, this is a work which suggests that honouring our intuitions and embracing our individual perspectives are ways of creating the harmonious experiences we all wish to have: our fingerprints are unique, our irises are original and so are our perspectives on life. The difference between my debut novel and many other religious books is that The ROSE insists this reality is not only acceptable, but in many ways a blessing.
Life is akin to a painting of a rainbow: the palette would be unbearably dull without the varieties of colour and tone each of us provides.
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3ZRS1dL
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3BtSOrD
Instagram: @ebscialom
Twitter: @emilybsci1
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