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Open
Hearts
Review by Dawn Baumann Brunke
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He told me that once he forgot himself & his heart
opened up like a door with a loose latch & everything
fell out & he tried for days to put it all back in the
proper order, but finally he gave up & left it there in
a pile & loved everything equally.
~Open Heart
Brian Andreas
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StoryPeople
By Brian Andreas
(1997, StoryPeople, 800-476-7178; www.storypeople.com/)
StoryPeople are wood sculptures that artist and author Brian
Andreas makes out of old barn and fence wood from homesteads in
northeast Iowa. The sculptures look like people (in a rough, artsy
sort of way) and are hand-stamped, one letter at a time, with stories.
StoryPeople (the book) is a collection of the quirky stories that
appear on StoryPeople (the sculptures), along with many equally quirky
sketches.
This is a wonderful book that is great fun to read. It's especially
perfect for people who long for some insight but have neither the
attention span nor inclination to sit around and look for it. The
stories are short, potent, and metaphysically intriguing -- kind of
like a shot of killer espresso with a cosmic fortune cookie on the
side. The category of the book is listed as
Humor/Philosophy/Spirituality/New Age/Life Wisdom/Fiction and all of
this is true. StoryPeople stories are silly, bittersweet, joyous,
amusing and moving, depending on the page you're on. Here's a short
sampling. Enjoy.
Three Blind Mice
I tried for a whole summer to teach our cat to play the piano. We
started with an easy song. It was 3 Blind Mice. My dad said it
didn't work because the cat had a tin ear, but I think it was
because she kept looking around for the blind mice the whole time
& never gave it her full attention.
Empty Space
After his father died, he carried his life more gently & left an
empty space for the birds and other creatures.
Blue Squares
We lay there & looked up at the night sky & she told me
about stars called blue squares & red swirls & I told her
I'd never heard of them. Of course not, she said, the really
important stuff they never tell you. You have to imagine it on your
own.
Dawn Baumann Brunke is the Editor of Alaska Wellness
magazine.
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Alaskan
Authors
Candle
Sparks:
Adventures and Trials in an Eccentric Alaska Bush Town
By Lilly Goodman (Publication Consultants, 1997, Softcover, $12.95)
The various quirks and eccentricities of the residents of the
fictional Candle, Alaska, mix together to create some rather memorable
sparks, hence the title of this novel by Lilly Goodman. Small towns
bring out the best and worst in people and Goodman's tale follows a
similar line. Rather than being overly melodramatic, this story is a
combination of conflict and humor, with a little bit of Annie
Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" splashed in to add to
the sentiment Goodman feels for the magnificent Alaskan landscape.
The story is narrated by dog musher Heidi Ravison. Although she
tells a good tale, we never learn much about her, except that she
shies away from conflict. Heidi can't quite decide where to place her
loyalty once the local feudings starts, so she sits on the fence
driving the other characters a little crazy and us, too. At one point
in this story, she wonders why she is so afraid to stand up for what
she believes in and confides her fears to her friend Ella, but it
never manifests any further. All the other characters in the book seem
to bloom, but at the end she's still budding.
The morals that Goodman puts forth in this novel are about comprise
and tolerance. At the end of the dog poo wars, no one in this tiny
bush town has really won or attained what they wanted. The key players
can't find common ground and many seem to be lost in the end when the
government steps in to regulate the conflict. In this respect, Goodman
shows us how a few small gestures could have saved a way of life that
folks desire when they move to remote areas.
While this is an enjoyable story, no doubt the reader will wish it
were longer, or perhaps had a sequel.
~ Review by Sherry Stultz
Walking My Dog, Jane:
From Valdez to Prudhoe Bay Along the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline
By Ned Rozell (Duquesne University Press, 2000, hardcopy $24.95)
The idea was simple: Ned Rozell and his dog Jane would take a
jaunty 800 mile hike across Alaska. Starting in Valdez, the two would
follow the oil pipeline northward until they reached the Arctic Ocean.
"I wanted a few things from this walk," wrote Rozell.
"I wanted the quiet times, alone with my dog. Maybe to learn
something about myself, maybe not. I wanted to find out who lives
here, where they came from, why they stay."
Those familiar with Rozell's writing style (he writes the Alaska
Science Forum and is a frequent contributor to Alaska magazine), will
find the tone of this book to be similarly informative and
entertaining, with an abundance of appreciation for the quirkiness of
life. Rozell's voice is richly descriptive (the Chugach mountains
"rise like surfacing sharks") and his story combines
history, politics, geography, biology and environmental issues against
the underlying economy of oil that thrums continually at his side. As
with any good travel tale, Rozell writes perceptively about those he
meets along the way -- from mushers to mushroom pickers to those who
golf the pipeline -- and shares his insights with a bounty of trivia
(did you know there are 33 species of willow in Alaska? Or that the
pipeline intersects 834 waterways -- 34 major rivers, 800 streams --
as it meanders across the state?).
As for Jane, beloved chocolate Lab who provides canine humor and
companionship throughout the book, one can only smile and concede --
what a great dog! Jane recently died, though not before accompanying
her walking partner on several book signings around Alaska. As Rozell
later wrote, "She was happy until the end, and the memory of her
wagging tail is her final gift. I was very happy Duquesne University
Press decided to put her name in the title. A good dog deserves some
ink." This well-written, engaging and very enjoyable book is a
fitting triubute to Jane and a lovely contribution to Alaskan
literature by a gifted writer.
~ Review by Dawn Brunke
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One
Miracle After Another: Toby's Story
By Jackie Kosednar (iUniverse, 2001, $27.95)
One Miracle After Another is the engaging, heart-felt story of a
charismatic and athletic, nine-year-old boy's fight with cancer.
Ordinary life is suddenly changed for an Alaskan family in 1985 as a
trip to the clinic reveals that Toby Wood doesn't have the flu but
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Toby's story, told through his mother's
eyes, thoughts and fears, encompasses a wide range of feelings as the
family -- and reader -- ride the emotional roller coaster of hope and
despair through remission and relapse, each day bringing new
challenges, triumphs, disappointments and joy. After 31 months of
standard medical treatment, including chemotherapy, Toby and his
family are introduced to the world of alternative healing. The race
against time quickly becomes a high-powered, spiritual journey:
finding a cure for Toby.
Author Jackie Kosednar (formerly Jackie Wood) is the publisher of
Alaska Wellness magazine and, in many ways, her book reveals the
underlying story of how Alaska Wellness came into being. Jackie's
search for alternative methods to help heal Toby brought her into
contact with many of the healers who now write for this magazine.
Through Toby, Jackie was amazed to experience the vast possibilities
of holistic healing at a time (15 years ago) when many alternative
modalities were highly suspect. Through their journey, Jackie and Toby
became pioneers in demonstrating the power of holistic healing, prayer
and the inherent healing powers of mind and body.
As a new mother, I was touched by Jackie's unconditional commitment
to her son's physical, mental and spiritual well-being when it was
often adverse to the medically accepted paths of our culture and
society. The true miracle is that this inspiring story can now be
shared with all who are confronting a terminal illness, battling any
physical condition, or seeking a cure beyond Western medicine's
paradigm.
~ Review by Jeri Ann Jenson
For more information on this book, see www.healingtoby.com
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