Firstlight: The Early Inspirational Writings of Sue Monk Kidd » (Reprint)

Already the author of two widely acclaimed nonfiction books, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter and When the Heart Waits, Sue Monk Kidd broke into blockbuster bestselling territory with her first novel, the book-club favorite The Secret Life of Bees.

At the core of personal spiritual writing is a hungering for wholeness, for self, for meaning. The question of "Who am I?" reverberates quietly in these pages as does a willingness to be known.
---Sue Monk Kidd

Best-selling novelist Sue Monk Kidd shares her collection of early inspirational writings---tracing her growth as she experienced the joys, difficulties, and rewards of being daughter, wife, mother, nurse, and spiritual seeker. This collection of non-fiction writings will provide insight into this popular writer, delighting fans of her international bestselling novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair.

In every life there are defining moments when one s heart begins to open, when the realization of who one is begins to dawn. These moments may be huge---or they may be small and subtle. But each leaves a person forever changed. In Firstlight, bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd invites readers to accompany her as she reveals many of her own "firsts"---an invitation she hopes will help point readers to their own moments of awakening.

The stories and essays within are drawn from the author s early writings for both Guideposts and, to a lesser extent, for other publications. They are loosely gathered around thirteen spiritual motifs, and offer an intimate glimpse into the early years of Monk Kidd s journey as a writer and as a spiritual seeker.

Included are reflections on the author s multiple roles as mother, daughter, wife, nurse, and writer. There are recollections about her year in Africa, meditations on her childhood, reflections on her marriage, and musings on a stream of ordinary moments---all of which add richness and meaning to the author s spiritual journey.

Publishers Weekly

Most readers know Kidd for her blockbuster novels, The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair. Yet this nurse-turned-writer was known in traditional Christian circles for years for her inspirational essays and nonfiction spiritual memoirs (When the Heart Waits) until she turned to a more nontraditional feminine spirituality (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter). In the introduction, Kidd admits it was difficult to go back and reread her earlier work with an eye to publication. But "[a] significant portion of my life can be understood as spiritual quest and the articulation of that experience." Gleaned from Guideposts (for which she wrote for a dozen years), Weavings and other publications, these essays point to Kidd's desire to pay attention to her soul, a "repository of the inner Divine, the truest part of us," from which so much of her writing sprang. The subjects have universal appeal: a child sharing a red scarf with a homeless man; the need for solitude; fishing with her grandfather; the joy and pain of sending a child to college. Most of the essays have a point, which is neatly explained. Kidd's lovely prose, passion for the spiritual life and early instincts for telling a compelling story should help this book attract a wide readership. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.