Altars in the Street: A Courageous Memoir of Community and Spiritual Awakening [Paperback]

Melody Chavis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 1998

A wonderfully written memoir, overflowing with miraculous stories, of a Buddhist private eye who vows to heal her community's suffering from violence and racism.

Altars in the Street is for people who live in cities and those who have fled them. It will speak to anyone who cares about the future of our children, our neighborhoods, and our nation, as well as anyone who wants to look truthfully at the relationship between poverty and prisons and between community and education. Drawing on deep reserves of good humor, common sense, and practical experience of nonviolent action, Melody Ermachild Chavis has written a moving testament to the power of spirit in today's often cynical world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I felt the same combinaton of inspiraton and galvanizing anger as I did after reading Sister Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking--except that Melody seemed to go one step further. For so many of us who ask, 'But how can I help?' this book offers the inspiration and the path."
--Linda Loewenthal, Editor, Quality Paperback Book Club

"The deepest message of this book is showing by example how opportunities for Engaged Buddhism present themselves in day-to-day life. Without dogma or rhetoric Chavis shwos how an ordinary person works at making change happen... and just how far one can go by having a dream and living it."
--Barbara Hirshkowitz, Turning Wheel

"The author's efforts to deal constructively with her own anger, to cease thinking dualisztically, and to practice lovingkindness--even to those who are her enemies--reveal the essence of spiritual politics. Altars in the Street powerfully conveys the ethical base of service and the rigors of compassion in an embattled environment."
--Values & Visions

"Ms. Chavis's moving account of her efforts to build, protect, and enhance a home and community are compelling reading for all who are truly commited to efforts to solve community problems and to build a better future for our children."
--Congressman Ronald V. Dellums


"Altars in the Street presents a startling juxtaposition of the fierce and inspiring facts of everyday life in an inner city neighborhood, with an appealing perspective on the greening of the city...a celebration of life."
--Carl Anthony, president of Earth Island Institute and director of Urban Habitat Program

"This book makes me sad and mad as helleveryone concerned with the survival of our children and communinties must read it."
--Herbert Kohl, author of Thirty-Six Children


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Publisher

Melody's book about living in what many of us would consider a war zone--the inner city--has touched more hearts than any other book I have ever published and I have been editing books for more than thirty years now. Primarily through the medium of the Internet, she has received an avalanche of mail describing how people have stayed up all night reading what she has to say and how deeply moved they have been by her humanity and resourcefulness. This is a woman whose life is her teaching.
--Toinette Lippe, Bell Tower, Editorial Director

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; First Printing edition (August 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609801961
• ISBN-13: 978-0609801963
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An emotional masterpiece to bind the gaps of race & religion, November 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Altars in the Street: A Courageous Memoir of Community and Spiritual Awakening (Paperback)

Chavis' book is one of the few to literally draw tears from my eyes. It is a beautiful life story of one woman's difference in both race and spirituality, and her ability to make a difference by them. I truly believe that if word of mouth could only get around, it is deserving of the NY Times Bestseller. This book should be read as a novel, as well as a handbook on how to make a differnce in the world...in society...in your life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope for those who believe our cities are doomed!, November 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Altars in the Street: A Courageous Memoir of Community and Spiritual Awakening (Paperback)

Altars in The Street is one of the best books I've read in a long time, because it demonstrates what can be done to counter the degradation crime and drug abuse bring to a city neighborhood. I found the book very hard to put down--not only because it reveals the workings of an inner city neighborhood, but also due to the autobiographical account of one family's courage in staying put on their street despite often overwhelming adversity. Melody Chavis shows how all available resources could be marshalled to try to restore a peaceful, caring environment for families and children of different races and economic backgrounds. Whether this completely succeeded or not, the book shows in a practical way how a sense of community and neighbor helping neighbor work to maintain a safe and viable place to live--wherever one may be.