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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Xandria is wriiten from the heart to touch our inner spirit,, May 15, 1999
By A Customer
A seventeen year old woman , Xandria, on the threshold of success faces the challenge of going on to achieve her goals while wrestling with the turmoil of emotions within her as she learns that her beloved single parent mother is dying of AIDS,Athena , Xandria's mother struggles with both the physical pain of her illness and the emotional upheaval she experiences when friends and colleagues reject her. Even her own daughter turns against her in blind rage at first. Eventually, Athena transforms her adversity into a search to teach others understanding of her illness. She creates a magazine and a center for AIDS victims. Athena is loved and admired by Eli. He is that rare male partner - confident, successful and ambitious yet respectful and supportive of a woman who cannot bring herself to fully accept him as her husband. Eli provides the money, advice and know how to make Athena `s dreams reality. This relationship is one of the three explorations into the dynamics of love as expressed in friendship. Another example is the friendship of Dr. Adams and his wife Diana for Athena and Xandria .The reader is drawn into the soul-searching that makes a former society queen recognize and acknowledge her failing to love and honor her brother- an AIDS victim. Another important theme is the meaning of forgiveness, how to do it and the healing that it promotes. Xandria is also an affirmation of success and the commitment that goes into creating it. The writer charts the stumbles into self-doubt and self pity along the way. The reader is introduced to Coach who loves and inspires his student Xandria. Their relationship is a subtle blend of some significant relationships that we all value - parent/ child, lover / protector, teacher/ student. Xandria confronts her anger and resentment against her mother when she runs away to a mountain cabin. Mysteriously she meets Tom, an old friend of her parents. As he patiently listens to her, he draws out her negative emotions and redirects her into forgiveness. Tom gently guides Xandria to appreciate what her parents have done to help her to grow into someone who is true to herself - an authentic person. Another engaging character who truly supports mother and daughter during their testing year is Xandria's young friend Nikki. Nikki is loyal under trying circumstances to both mother and daughter. She shows genuine joy in sharing Xandria's success and she admires the unique parent daughter relationship of her friend. Xandria's final triumph resonates against her mother's death. Xandria and the reader travel along a surging river of emotions - anger, fear, loss and grief until they both reach the still space of acceptance that comes from unconditional love. This is a story that unashamedly focuses on feelings. It leaves the reader with a greater sense of the meaning of lives fully lived. It is a celebration of living each moment with as much presence as we can muster. The novel is a vivid portrayal of courage, friendship, dedication and learning what love can bring to the most barren of situations. Xandria is a novel written from the heart to touch the inner person in all of us.
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