Lookin' Up in Down Times

Lookin' Up in Down Times narrates adventures the Author, Mountainbird, experienced over a span of thirty years, while traveling and teaching in New York, Florida, Arizona, Massachusetts and North Carolina, the US territory of Guam, the Micronesian island of Kosrae, and the West African country of Ghana. While the chapters are based on true experiences, rather than follow a strict autobiographical theme, each story is written to inspire personal growth, while motivating adult readers as they travel and reflect on their own life journeys. Even though Mountainbird distances herself emotionally by calling herself Maria, readers are invited to enter in as the heroine and others find help when there seems to be none forthcoming, realize the positive or the life lesson in every situation, and, ultimately, see light in the midst of darkness or the most challenging circumstances. As in much Native American storytelling, each story reveals a life lesson. From catastrophic blizzards to the personal tragedy of a loved one's death, to construction with no power tools or heavy equipment, Mountainbird challenges readers to look at life from a fresh perspective. While faith in God is at the core of Mountainbird's optimism, agnostics or readers of various faiths will relate to both challenges and solutions as she engages readers as they journey at home and abroad. The Author invites readers to invoke depth within their everyday lives when she asks, "How often do we miss the beauty of a moment because of the bother of the day?" Events in each chapter unfold the power of generosity, unity, confidence, faith, or sheer will as people overcome challenges in the face of adversity. Over and over, the Author reminds us to keep lookin' up. She shares her "heartfelt hope" in the introduction: "Keep lookin' up during and after life's storms. As we experience with hurricanes so common in the coastal Carolinas, after the wake of their destructive force, we might just spy a rainbow."