Customer Reviews

The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You

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Hi There Everyone,

I have just been blown away by The Kin of Ata. Another Camelot. Another Avalon. And more.

I am not easily swayed by words.I am a Marine,a Harvard MBA, a CPA, a spouse of some years, a parent of four children, an awesome dude.

I have ... never written a review. But this time it is different.

The Kin of Ata shows us another way. A way free of sin, guilt, exclusion, boring TV, AND yet full of fun, joyful work, ways to lift ourselves up, ways to fulfill our human lives.

I enjoyed "The Celestine Prophesy". That book was distributed at first in off Main Street "New Age" bookstores and leapt off the shelves. The author was amazed and went on to sell millions.

The "Kin" is far more expansive, joyful, than the "Prophesy" for me. For those of you who know, what more can I say? For those who don't and are in search for a more meaningful life, buy, lease, or borrow this book.

By the time you have read twenty pages, you will thank me and kiss my ring. Since I wear no ring, your buying this amazing book will be our mutual gift to one another.

... I do not know how to reassure you on this point. Perhaps a little (very little in our society) trust is in order. You must decide.

This is a joy filled adventure. Easy to read. Just over 200 pages in length. Very easy to read. I bet you read it more than once!!

To the Misty Isles of Ata, Avalon, Camelot and Erin.

On The Road to God Kows Where

Dorothy Bryant, who hales from the planet Berkeley, has written several novels that are so startlingly different from each other than it makes you wonder how one person could have achieved this feat.
I don't like fantasy genre books, not at all. But just because Bryant had written this, I swallowed hard and read it. Oh boy. It's wonderful. It's the tale of a wretched man who seems to have killed not only his girlfriend but also himself. But he rouses from his `swoon' in a strange world where there are no signs of ugliness or violence - and the rest of the novel plays with the question of how he will fare in such an unfamiliar environment.
I strongly recommend three of her other books. The Garden of Eros (a personal favorite; I'm a midwife, and there's a fantastic description of an unattended birth in this book), Miss Giardino, and Ella Price's Journal. Dorothy Bryant created her own publishing company, Ata Books, in Berkeley because of her desire to help local writers get published and to keep their books in print and on local bookstore shelves indefinitely.

You will not regret reading this excellent book. I have bought this book four times because I have given copies to friends who have in turn bought copies for friends. I am an aspiring author and an avid reader. This is the best book I have ever read. It has changed my life and continues to remind me of what is really important in life. This book has some magic in store for you. Please read it and realize your potential as a better human being.

I read THE KIN OF ATA almost twenty years ago and have given many copies away as gifts. I adore this story and have read it numerous times. It is important to note that the first two or three pages are NOT what this book is about. This book is about what is possible in each and every one of us, even the proud and arrogant. The images of Ata bring me great comfort (The Comforter was it's original title); the "holkas" for healing, the sleeping wheels, the spiraling wall with shells for collecting drinking water, the great cone shaped gathering hall, the bowls of food for feeding one another...

For anyone interested in social responsibility, spiritual growth, the power of dreams or even parapsychology, I highly recommend that you buy this book, read it and pass it on to your best friend.

This is my favorite dream-inspired work of fiction, and it has been a major influence on my own approach to dreaming, as explained in my books CONSCIOUS DREAMING and DREAMGATES. Dorothy Bryant shows us that the first key to creating a dreaming culture is to open a safe space between people every day in which dreams can be shared and honored. If we can bring this about in our families, our schools, our work environments and our communities, we will take a tremendous step towards manifesting a more generous, spirited and compassionate society where we can move decisively beyond barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding. We will also bring gifts of storytelling and sponteneous healing into our everyday lives.

The second aspect of Dorothy Bryant's vision of compelling interest today is that she beautifully portrays the possibility that the dreamworld is the REAL world, and that "big" dreams are real experiences in which we enter other dimensions, encounter other beings, and recollect our spiritual purpose. A sensitive movie version of this book would be a much-needed counterpoint to the film "The Matrix", where the reality behind physical appearances is depicted as nightmarish, and an antidote to the consensual hallucination that dreams are "only" dreams.

One reading of this book is a modern Utopia. It's a place built on peace: happy, pastoral, multiracial, communal, and sexually liberated. The people are so viscerally in tune with their environment that they very nearly hibernate through the cold season and usually bear their young in the spring. The whole populace is dedicated to their dreams, to sharing their dreams, and to living more deeply in their dreams.

A man from our outer world appears in that place, not the kind you'd want as your representative. He can not see into their depths, and violates one of the women who tends him. These peaceful people still accept him, though, and envelop him in their way. After many years, he finds his place among them. He also finds the true meaning of this Eden, a power and an ongoing place in the world that he never imagined.

I'm still not quite sure what to make of this book. It comes from the hippy/commune era around 1970, and carries the indelible mark of its time. It's a bit simplistic at times, and only the first-person character is developed in any depth. This is a bit more than the common Utopia story, a bit more optimistic and a bit more magical.

The very worst you can say about this is that it's light and readable, even enjoyable if you let yourself enjoy it. The story of personal transformation has been told before and is told well here. I guess real point is that this little land of loving dreamers is itself a dream worth having.

//wiredweird

I have to second the words of ahpost3: magical, fascinating, enlightening, can't-put-it down; didn't want it to end. A glorious vision of how life could be. I read it more than 25 years ago and it still powerfully lingers in the mind. Thank you, Dorothy Bryant, for this gift. I have recommended it to many over the years! To all of you who are interested in the interconnectedness of our dreams and our pysches, read this book!

There are no words to describe the immense affect this book can deliver to the reader. The spiritual implications and subtle teachings interlace with this beautiful story that you will never forget. I read this book about 20 years ago or so, and it still remains at the top of my list.

I read this book several times back in the 70's and recently found myself reading it again. The shocker came when I finally discovered the depth of the writing and the amazing parallels to the concepts you can learn in "A Course in Miracles"...(talk about inspired writing!) Anyone who is traveling the Course or who is a fan of Eckhart Tolle, Dr. Michael Ryce, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Don Miguel Ruiz, Brian Weiss, Robert Perry, etc, etc, etc, NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK!
Examples:
Atans have no word for past or future..."only the present Now"...
Atans don't have personal pronouns...all are "kin"...
Atans have unconditional love for all...
The Atan word "Nagdeo" means....God, light, joy, peace, love, right, spirit, etc. Anything that honors kin.
"Donagdeo" means anything that interferes with "Nagdeo"...the people are not pefect, Utopian...they struggle with all the vices and errors everyone else does....but they strive towards the "Nagdeo" and avoid anything "donagdeo"....
The Rays of Light and the "shining jewels" the protagonist sees...

Also this book has the clearest insight I've even heard into the "Loaves and fishes" message...to give IS to receive.

I could go on, that's just a few. I hope I have gotten my point across...you will find your own truths here...

Like the book states ("A Course" does too) in the end words fail and fall short. The Truth is in you and me. You'll recognize it when you see it...Nagdeo.


The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You

The Kin Of Ata Are Waiting For You by Dorothy Bryant is a book that everyone should have the opportunity to read. This book is top of the list, it makes a connection within you. It is in so many ways an inspiration and a guide to follow. It will bring you back to the way things used to be, before people tried to create a dream without having that dream. It's a book about our culture and how it came to be and what our true nature is. The kin of Ata, a type of people, are waiting for you to realize that the reality is not here, it is there, their way of life. It's a book about transformation and awakening. It's described on the back of the book as, "the struggle of the human spirit to know and become itself." The book is easy to read and keeps your interest throughout.