Pieces of White Shell
by Terry Tempest Williams

List Price: $16.95
Our Price: $14.93
You Save: $2.02 (12%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.49 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Pieces of White Shell

Book Review: Full of Earth Wisdom
Summary: 5 Stars

One of my favorite passages deals with a young woman's coming-of-age ceremony, Kinaalda. A young woman's ability to give life is celebrated through a ceremony that can last up to five days. Blessings are heaped upon her, her jewelry is washed along with her hair while the community sings "Songs of Dawn" and prepares a special cake. How different from American culture. We do not have a cultural celebration, acknowledging the life-giving potential of young women. Adolescent girls may get a clinical explanation of mesntruation during gym class at school. No party here! And more often than not, a girl feels this is something that must remain hidden from the community. If she's lucky, she has a best friend in whom she can confide. Navajo people celebrate the life-giving potential of a young woman. What an empowering message this must send to Navajo girls as they celebrate this ritual communally.

Pieces of White Shell is full of earth wisdom. Landscape--especially the mountains. They come alive through the story of their origins. Yucca. So many different uses for this desert plant. Soap, sandals, baskets, games, food. Stories of animals. Coyote--that border figure on the edge of the profane and sacred. Deer--Deer Gods giving instruction on how they should be hunted and used.

Pieces of White Shell is a book that I savor again and again. And it always satisfies.

State & Local Books

• Books > Subjects > History > Americas > United States
• Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology
• Social Sciences
• New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > History > United States
• Social Sciences