TITLE: Out on a Limb
AUTHOR: Shirley MacLaine
PUBLISHED BY: Bantam Books
AT: New York, 1983
VIEWPOINT: True Believer
  367 pp.

Reviewed by Darlene Noller

.   Out on a Limb recounts Shirley Maclaine's search for self-discovery and
spiritual unfoldment.  This trip takes her around the world as she pursues her
career, has various intense encounters with her politician lover, and seeks
answers about the revelations occuring in her life.  She remarks that her
investigation into the spiritual aspects of our existence was instigated by her
best friend and "twin soul", David.  MacLaine then set on a course to read
everything from the Bible to the Cayce readings.  The more she opened up to the
realm beyond  her five senses the more that world presented itself to her.  An
old acquaintance causally mentions a trance medium in Sweden and within hours,
MacLaine finds herself in a situation where she must go to Sweden to meet her
lover.  The serendipity and the unusual nature of events occuring in succession
cause a deep search for self-realization.  For every step taken to find
answers, a greater number of perplexing questions arise.

.   Her personal quest took her on a retreat high to the isolated mountains of
Peru.  During this retreat, she learned of David's experiences with a being
from anther world, had an out-of-body experience and visited a Peruvian psychic
that accurately predicted Bella Abzug's loss in her campaign for mayor. 
Maclaine's spiritual drive now took on a magnitude of a cosmic scale.  David
had told her she would be able risk humiliation if she really believed what she
had learned.  But what could she do about it?

.   She began to wonder if the string of coincidental events of late his some
deeper meaning and direction.  After these series of events, MacLaine began to
develop and lead a more spiritually-oriented life that was covert and hidden
from most friends and associates.  To most of her friends, her convictions
began to take shape, became more obvious, and were confirmed as she pursued her
daily activities.  MacLaine also encountered strong prejudice from, as she
states, "highly intellectual people" at the mere mention of words like "astral"
and "spiritual dimensions."  As MacLaine's spritiual interests and experiences
increased, the crossroads of whether or not to write this book had to be faced.
She had gone public on politics, women's rights, social change, and war.

.   Out on a Limb is an insightful explanation of Shirley Maclaine's spiritual
unfoldment.  As an author, Ms. Maclaine is intellegent, witty and sincere in
her endeavor to relate her experiences openly and fairly.  Much courage was
evident in order to create such an expose concerning her extraordinary path of
growth.  Much research was done and cited, with the author attempting to
substantiate her claims of paranormal phenomena.

.   Even at that, some of the information in her book is difficult to accept
and it is left to the reader to believe or reject the material.  While the
author undoubtedly has proof, to her own satisfaction, of spiritual entities
and UFO contacts, I have reservations about the validity of some statements and
claims until further and more sound evidence can be provided.  Historical
evidence, notwithstanding (UFO documentation and Cayce research), I find these
claims not without drawbacks.  Because "It feels right" isn't enough.  A more
solid case needs to be offered before public and individual acceptance will be
forthcoming.  Out on a limb is a very appropriate title as the author has laid
her reputation on the line with the spiritual stance she has made in writing
the book.