In times of crisis, loss and suffering, how can we continue to live with a clear mind and a peaceful heart? Can adversity offer unexpected gifts? In this spare, translucent memoir, Edie Hartshorne presents a collection of finely rendered vignettes that explore these questions. Through the tragic and unexpected loss of her eldest son, Edie is guided by music, spiritual exploration, and a sensitivity for nature to discover the hidden radiance of her own inner strength. Her transformational journey unfolds like a living work of art, inspiring us to remain open to kindness and compassion even in the midst of suffering. Within these delicately portrayed shadows of love and death, of joy and sorrow, shines a tender light of hope, wisdom and love.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A journey of grief and loss that leads to a place of wonder. -- Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits
All the sounds of our humanity are here--oceans of tears and millions of stars. This is a wise book. -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart
All the sounds of our humanity are here--oceans of tears and millions of stars. This is a wise book. -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart
About the Author
Edie Hartshorne, MSW, is a therapist, musician, and writer. Raised a Quaker and now a practicing Buddhist, she integrates spiritual inquiry and music with her therapeutic private practice. She is also a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner.
As a musician, she has performed extensively in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Japan; at Buddhist events, retreats with Thich Nhat Hahn, and at the Dalai Lama Sacred Music Festival. In recognition of her work using music for peace she was elected a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science
A former Fullbright Scholar in Uruguay and advocate for indigenous people in Latin America, she currently collaborates with the World Wheel to preserve indigenous Shuar culture and the rainforest in Ecuador. She is also Co-Director of A World Without Armies: Costa Rica Initiative.
A recipient of the Distinguished Women of Berkeley Award, she lives with her husband in Berkeley, CA and is the mother of two grown children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Light In Blue Shadows,
By
This review is from: Light in Blue Shadows (Paperback)
"Light in Blue Shadows" is a jewel-like recounting of Edie Hartshorne's immense journey through the darkness of her son's apparent suicide, as she emerges back into life. Her story, so tenderly written, so personal, makes me appreciate my own life more, and awakens that sometimes slippery knowledge that we are strong, resilient beings who seek light.
She organically sieved from her days and her interactions the glimmers of light and reminders of life that came her way. And, somehow, her intractable grief did, in fact, transform. It is a miracle, it is a mystery, and she has thankfully chronicled it lest we ever forget that it is possible. I can see that I can use her book as a resource for myself as a reminder of this precious truth. Her choice to write each offering in succinct, pointed bits was brilliant, as I was able to steep in each event, thought, or letter, as a meditation, or a poem. As haiku reverberates through spaciousness, so do each of Edie's chapters. With honesty, humor, and a very gifted and real voice, Edie Hartshorne has offered a personal and universal experience of loss of a beloved.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Portrait of Courage, Mercy, and Transformation,
By
This review is from: Light in Blue Shadows (Paperback)
Edie Hartshorne's memoir "Light in Blue Shadows" overflows with gracious tenderness, courage, and mercy. It is at once a testament to a mother's love for her family, and for life; an openly told, deep, and plainly spoken tale of loss; and a generous gift of witness.
With delicate, incisive, and astute attention, Hartshorne unfolds her story with forthright grace, honesty, and a pure poetry. Her willingness to express sorrow in its acute, daily, form -with great respect for both the process and the reader- allows us to face pain - hers and our own - with sincere gentleness. When, in time, Hartshorne invites us to walk into the simplicity and intimacy of her garden of self-reflection, we can do so with equal respect, tapping into wells of universal kindness and compassion in the midst, and aftermath, of intense grief. These are lessons that no one can borrow from another. Yet here we are gifted with so many life-giving images and truths that the heart breaks open time and again: First with tears of fear, empathy, and recognition. Then, with the prized tears of clarity, understanding, gratitude, and joy. In her beautiful portrait of love and family, Edie Hartshorne gives us the gift of transformation. This is a book to be cherished and shared with all who seek hope, solace, and courage in the face of death and loss. c 2007 Judith-Kate Friedman
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Losing a child,
By
This review is from: Light in Blue Shadows (Paperback)
Edie Hartshorne. Light in Blue Shadows
If you have lost a child or have a friend who has lost a child, this book is for you. The author recounts the shocking loss of her elder son to what was initially judged a drug-induced suicide. Family and friends found this verdict inexplicable, and after intense research by the young man's father, it was changed to accidental death. But still the author and her family had to deal with a gaping hole in their lives and make sense of their loss. The author tells this story in a sequence of exquisitely drawn vignettes, counterposed with letters directly addressed to her son. These letters are in places pretty raw; there is no attempt in this text to mediate anguish. What one sees instead is an individual and a family drawing on deep roots of culture, both American Quaker and Japanese Buddhist, to work their way forward from the experience of loss to a state of renewed strength. In the process, the author succeeds in calling back the spirit of her son and reintegrating his spirit into her life and the lives of her family and friends. It is a remarkable odyssey that is described in this book. As someone who has also lost a son, I can assure readers that if they persevere with Hartshorne's account they will be richly rewarded by it.
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