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Dance the River Whale [Paperback]

Ron Mercier (Author)

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Book Description

March 31, 1999
When twenty-four-year-old Tom Tetreault becomes consumed with a self-destructive hate for his grandfather, a near-death experience introduces him to invisible forces that enable him not only to recover his own life, but to help his grandfather die as he had seldom lived- in peace.

The intermediary between Tom and those forces for life is a spirit guide called the Dark Woman, modeled after the wise woman of the Iroquois nations. From a small Massachusetts fishing town, through New Hampshire and Vermont, to the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Canada, she accompanies him on an extraordinary journey of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Having struggled against odds to recover his love for his grandfather, Tom learns that his love extends beyond his immmediate family, and leads him to the discovery of his Mohawk heritage and destiny as a spiritual healer among his people.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mercier puts his experience as a psychotherapist and former Catholic priest to good use in this first novel of familial hatred, familial reconciliation and spiritual enlightenment. Tom T?treault, 24, a French-Canadian living in Ingram, Mass., is at the end of his tether. Consumed with hatred for his once-beloved grandfather, he has spent the past few years trying to drink himself to death. Tom is rescued from the brink by Anna, the (somewhat implausibly) angelic and devoted nurse who loves him unconditionally, in spite of his stony fury and self-loathing. Another, stranger female savior appears as well: Dark Woman, a mysterious disembodied voice that encourages Tom and teases him into finding the strength he will need for his journey of self-discovery and healing. Much of the plot alternates between Tom's narration and his long, often confusing dialogues with this spirit guide, whose help he needs in confronting his hatred for his grandfather. The roots of this hatred are many: Tom's grandfather called Tom's absent mother a whore and Tom's father a coward. Most complicated of all, the teenaged Tom intervened in his grandfather's attempted suicide. Now the grandfather is dying and wants to unveil the secrets of Tom's tragic family historyAif Tom can listen to his heart and trust the old man. The grandfather's revelations set Tom on a journey to recover his Native American heritage and to fulfill his destiny as a healer. The spiritual epiphanies Tom finds along the way range from the surreal to the saccharine, but readers interested in exploring the links between Christianity and Native American spirituality may enjoy Mercier's creative configurations.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A heartfelt story of human victory over hopelessness and despair. The reader is allowed to embrace the sometimes elusive light at the end of the tunnel and to feel the divine intervention of spirit that changes the life of these hauntingly familiar characters forever."

- Jamie Sams, author of Medicine Cards TM, Earth Medicine, and Dancing the Dream -- Publisher Comments

"A restorative, an elixir. As refreshing as ice tea in Summer's heat. A totem dance unites generations in this generous, warm story."(The Book Reader (Spring/Summer 1999)) -- (The Book Reader, Spring/Summer 1999)

"Dance the River Whale is written on many levels, which is what sets it apart from ordinary books. It is a marvelous story by a truly gifted writer that heralds the human ability to vanquish demons." -- Richard Fuller , Metaphysical Reviews, May 1999

"In this modern medicine tale, the visions of the shaman and the ordinary experience of a son of two worlds intermingle beautifully as we follow a journey of truth and restoration..." -- Anita Manuel, NAPRA ReView: Vol. 10, No. 3 May/June 1999


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