Hi Donna, I am going to take your suggestion. I kind of need something to get lost in for a few days between recovering here and catching up on life. Thank-you for the suggestion! Defend your choice to alternative medicine and food supliments. www.healthfreedomrights.com Katie Hill Kaitlyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx _____ From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Donna Smith Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 4:52 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Alice Walker Recommendations Okay. Here are my recommendations for anyone who hasn't read Walker before and wants to check out her writing. Start with: Now is the Time to Open Your Heart This is a pretty recent book and one that is just beautiful. She has mellowed with age and wisdom. Synopsis: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and The Temple of My Familiar now gives us a beautiful new novel that is at once a deeply moving personal story and a powerful spiritual journey. In Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, Alice Walker has created a work that ranks among her finest achievements: the story of a woman's spiritual adventure that becomes a passage through time, a quest for self, and a collision with love. Kate has always been a wanderer. A well-published author, married many times, she has lived a life rich with explorations of the natural world and the human soul. Now, at fifty-seven, she leaves her lover, Yolo, to embark on a new excursion, one that begins on the Colorado River, proceeds through the past, and flows, inexorably, into the future. As Yolo begins his own parallel voyage, Kate encounters celibates and lovers, shamans and snakes, memories of family disaster and marital discord, and emerges at a place where nothing remains but love. Told with the accessible style and deep feeling that are its authors hallmarks, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart is Alice Walker's most surprising achievement. Next try her poetry by reading: Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth This is one of the most wonderful books of poetry I've ever read, and definitely one of the reasons I rank her up there with Maya Angelou. Synopsis: Alice Walker wrote this collection of poems at a time when she thought that she would write no more. It reflects her personal growth and the depth of her spirit. And if you've made it this far and want to go deeper, try: By the Light of My Father's Smile This is getting into Walker's classic prose style of telling a story from the perspective of multiple characters to fully explore humanity and not just the good parts. Again, this is a more recent book and still reflects her mellowing. Her earlier works such as Meridian, The Color Purple and The Temple of my Familiar, are much harder to read, IMO, though if you're feeling strong, well worth the effort. Synopsis: Readers of Alice Walker's other works will recognize her style of telling a story from the perspective of multiple characters. In this book she once again seeks to unfold the mystery of humanity, spiritualism and sexuality, and the roles of men and women in traditional and nontraditional relationships. She combines poetry, history and mysticism to guide the reader toward greater enlightenment or just to tell a beautiful story. _____ BTW, Alice Walker was blinded in one eye at an early age while playing with her brother. Peace and Hope, Donna