In e-mails to her daughter, Grace explores her feelings of fear and love, the preciousness and tensions in her relationships-particularly with her husband-and her place within the cultural traditions of Appalachia. She writes of everyday happenings as well as happenings in past lives of herself and her family. Resolution comes in a way that she does not anticipate.

From Kirkus Reviews

In this debut novel, a middle-aged woman explores past lives and present tensions in emails to her daughter.

"I was Sha Li, a priestess of the highest order, a worshipper of Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion and mercy." So begins the first of many notes, via email, that Grace Heronheart drafted (and mostly sent) to Alyce, her college-aged, eldest daughter, just after Grace quit her 20-year job as a school psychologist in rural West Virginia. After noting that "our families probably think that I lost my marbles," Grace tells Alyce that she's actually "finding my rainbow colored, multifaceted marbles" by pursing her dream of being a writer. She provides her daughter with everyday-life updates, particularly regarding Alyce's disapproving father; she also shares the story of her past incarnation as the aforementioned Sha Li, a secondary wife of a Chinese warrior. She tells tales of other past lives, such as Zete, a "dark-skinned" tribal "prophetess," and Mourning Dove, a Native American who fell in love with a trapper. Along the way, Grace details the roles that Alyce and the rest of her present-day family played in these past existences. By novel's end, she tells her daughter that she's come to the conclusion that "I only write my own script. I cannot write anyone else's," and embarks on "a new adventure, and a new beginning." First-time author Furst has written an engaging tale of midlife awakening that reads like a memoir, even as it skillfully deploys past-life metaphors. Grace's missives combine the relatable tone of a typical email from a mom (such as when she applauds Alyce's choice in boyfriend) with striking tableaux of imagined lives. Sha Li's tale is particularly poignant and reminiscent of the works of Amy Tan and Jung Chang. It's rather ambitious to cover three past lives and a conflict-ridden present, however, and the "P.S." about Grace's modern-day decision comes as a rather abrupt bombshell. Overall, though, Furst effectively sketches a character that lives out her assertion that "sanctuary can be found in all my rainbow stories."

A memorable depiction of an emerging writer exploring the many prisms of her voice.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Everyday Truth of a Rainbow Woman

By Janet L. Furst

Balboa Press

CHAPTER 1

September 2002

The jeep drove itself. As it descended the steep road to the river, I felt my body relaxing. The air seemed lighter.

The red truck was parked in front of the old bat-and-board cabin. The river rushed over the sandstone boulders, murmuring over the generator's purr. The cabin door was closed, and all seemed quiet within. I wondered if he could be showering. I waited outside. Surely he had heard my jeep and would come out of the cabin. I walked to the side of the river and sat on a flat rock. Time passed. The generator hummed. No one came.

* * *

Success is ...
feeling good about yourself,
being happy where you are in life,
being at peace with others,
and looking forward to the challenges and rewards of each new day.

CHAPTER 2

Fall 1999

My dear daughter,

You can either choose to believe that I truly lived this life and that this tale is my own and a foundation of my being, or you can choose to believe that I am imagining and creating a fanciful story. Either way, my story must be told, as there is truth in the telling.

I was Sha Li, a priestess of the highest order, a worshipper of Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion and mercy. My dwelling was in the middle of an elegant garden with many exotic flowers. Colors of magenta, gold, sky blue, and lush greens surrounded me and filled the air with a richness that I can still smell today when I close my eyes for remembering. My hut, with its thatched roof and bamboo siding, was swept clean every day by my precious servant and companion, Lilliani. My two black-eyed children ran and played in the garden every day, teasing the gardener, Holwai, as he dug in the rich soil and weeded out the unwanted thorns and thistles.

Mechia and Toizi loved to hide among the plants and find a soft spot of earth to spin their tops that had been carved as heart-gifts from the wood of a yew tree by Holwai for my son and daughter. The river flowed nearby, blue green with tall, thick rushes and cattails on each bank. My children and I seldom left the safety of our fenced-in enclosure. Lilliani and Holwai walked out through the iron-rod gate every day to bring back buckets of the pure river water to be blessed by Kuan Yin for our daily baths and drinking. I treasured the few times I was allowed to rest by the water's edge, mesmerized by the flowing waters. These excursions meant that I was carried on strong hemp-woven cloths with long poles held up by four strong eunuchs from my father's house. A thin, turquoise cloth formed a ceiling. I had been taught to be humble and soft-spoken as a girl- child, always to keep my head bowed and never look another human being in the eye.

I wanted to peek out through the silken curtains to see what was causing the noisy commotion on the streets, but I knew that was forbidden, so I never once looked out. I heard the shouts and chatter of the villagers and the barking of their dogs, remembering Lilliani's stories of the bustling marketplace. Only when we reached the river and our own secluded enclave was I lowered to the ground and carried to a grassy spot where I sat on a silken blanket to watch the waters flow. My children loved this peaceful place and splashed the water all around so that the mist would spray on my face, and I would breathe in the damp air.

Followers of our goddess came to me for sacred ceremony. Only the women came. We gathered and exchanged sacred herbs. Softly and with few words, the women spoke of what troubled their souls. We would bu

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