Everyday Truth of a Rainbow Woman

In e-mails to her daughter, Grace explores her feelings of fear and love, the preciousness and tensions in her relationshipsparticularly with her husbandand 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 ReviewsIn 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 beginsthe first of many notes, via email, that Grace Heronheart drafted (and mostly sent) to Alyce, her college-aged, eldestdaughter, just after Grace quit her 20-year job as a school psychologist in rural West Virginia. After noting that ourfamilies probably think that I lost my marbles, Grace tells Alyce that shes 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 Alyces disapproving father; she also shares the story of her past incarnation as the aforementionedSha Li, a secondary wife of a Chinese warrior. She tells tales of other past lives, such as Zete, a dark-skinned tribalprophetess, and Mourning Dove, a Native American who fell in love with a trapper. Along the way, Grace details theroles that Alyce and the rest of her present-day family played in these past existences. By novels end, she tells herdaughter that shes come to the conclusion that I only write my own script. I cannot write anyone elses, and embarkson a new adventure, and a new beginning. First-time author Furst has written an engaging tale of midlife awakeningthat reads like a memoir, even as it skillfully deploys past-life metaphors. Graces missives combine the relatable tone ofa typical email from a mom (such as when she applauds Alyces choice in boyfriend) with striking tableaux of imaginedlives. Sha Lis tale is particularly poignant and reminiscent of the works of Amy Tan and Jung Chang. Its ratherambitious to cover three past lives and a conflict-ridden present, however, and the P.S. about Graces modern-daydecision comes as a rather abrupt bombshell. Overall, though, Furst effectively sketches a character that lives out herassertion that sanctuary can be found in all my rainbow stories.A memorable depiction of an emerging writer exploring the many prisms of her voice.