"Ripples of the Universe makes a solid contribution to the study of contemporary spiritualities and is highly recommended for scholars of religion, sociology, anthropology and American culture."

Journal for the Academic Study of Religion

“This emotionally sensitive, beautifully written book shows how ethnography can reshape our understanding of ourselves. Crockford describes how spirituality offers hope of new resources and a new way of life in the context of contemporary economic arrangements, and how precarious such hopes can be. She casts an original, clear light on the everyday experience of a remarkable cast of people, displaying both compassion and objectivity; this is a small masterpiece.”

Timothy Jenkins, University of Cambridge

“In this lucid, engaging, and comprehensive analysis of Sedona’s metaphysical spiritualists, Crockford thoroughly unpacks the cosmology, millenarian beliefs, and cultural resonances of this key center of what used to be called ‘New Age spirituality.’ Crockford shows how Sedona’s metaphysicians rework race, class, kinship, health, neoliberal economics, and notions of purity, indigeneity, government corruption, and utopian aspiration in their efforts to create a value-driven spirituality that is as individual as it is emblematic of the ‘postsecular’ condition. A wonderful book!”

Adrian J. Ivakhiv, University of Vermont

“Not only is this book a deep ethnographic dive into the metaphysical/theosophical/new thought/new age/extraterrestrial spirituality and conspiracy theory milieu of Sedona, it is also an astute critical description of major thought currents in America today and their histories. This book will be of interest to anyone seeking to learn more about American culture, spirituality, and even politics.”

Catherine Wessinger, Loyola University New Orleans

"This is a fascinating interpretation of seekers and seekership at an iconic American site for post-New Age spirituality, focusing on key themes of nature, diet, identity, conspiracy and revelation. The author combines empathetic ethnography with shrewd analysis of the erosion of the middle ground between the local and the cosmic - society, in other words - that's inadvertently fostered in pursuit of the 'spiritual path'. This is an innovative and timely study which raises resonant questions about the impact of a hitherto minority worldview on mainstream American culture - and beyond."

Steven J. Sutcliffe, University of Edinburgh