I have listened to this book on tape several times, and I have found many evocative concepts laid out by these women on handling conflict and interpersonal communication with more aplomb. Both authors have done great work separately as well, perhaps better than together. Too many times difficult concepts and moments of possibly productive diverging perspectives defuse into murmurs of agreement, sounding a little too much like the public radio skit on Saturday Night Live. That said, there are insights to be had in this conversation between feminist luminaries, and there's something to be said for a tape I can listen to when bedridden with migraine to be instructed and soothed at the same time.

This delightful tape reassures that one can "fall of f the meditation/Tonglen bandwagon" periodically & still be ok. That's why it's called "practice," Pema says. For a few dollars, you participate in dialogue that will follow you about for weeks.

This book was one of the first short story books that I've read. It has some awesome stories in them. I enjoyed and loved them tremendously. Alice, you are truly a gifted writer. I enjoyed reading all your books.

This collection of short stories is a great introduction for anyone who has never read Walker's works, or a treat for established fans. The stories are unrelated to each other, and all feature a woman as a protagonist. One is told from the perspective of a large African-American woman who wrote the songs that made Elvis famous, and how she is received by the public when she gets her due credit. Another deals with a young teenager who becomes a murderess, and babysits the children of the deceased as everyone attends his funeral.

This work demonstrates Walker's range and depth, her ability to depict a situation whether told froma young girl or an older woman, a counrty dweller or an urbanite, a married woman ora thwarted love. In the end, though, you can't keep a good woman down!

This book gathers up so much of women's history and experience, all previously ignored or misrepresented and takes this history/experience as an important given, uses it to explain our human quest to seek sexual and spiritual fulfillment, to know ourselves. Speaking so honestly about female sexual hurt, female sexual maiming, female sexual shaming within the family, within the father/daughter relationship and imagining a way to heal this experience was powerfully brave of Walker. I felt like I was is a long darkened and forbidden room now amazingly and lovingly explored, revealed. I felt such relief to read this attempt at restoring female sexuality to an altar of acceptance, respect, love, social esteem. It seemed almost possible to live in a society, a family that really could anticipate female sexuality with joy, freedom and respect on an equal footing with male sexual importance. But my awe and gratitude for the subject and Walker's attempt is still tempered by my real sense, in the reading of it, that it was not entirely successful. I'm not sure why. Some of the sexual imagery, the dominating type sexual play in some scenes seemed artificial, unreal. If it were real, it wouldn't be so undisturbing to the participants, it would raise issues, it would be unsettling, not just accepted as part of their sexual bliss identity. But over all, the story reads like a fable, a fairy tale, really and that is fine with me. We need this new kind of fairy tale and fable.

Alice Walker has again taken us on a journey to examine how our actions can have affect on those we love. If you are up to the challenge to read and comprehend, let Alice take you through a whirlwind of erotic passion and heart mending reconciliation. Alice also very insightfully writes from a MAN's point of view, as the father/angel observes the outcomes of his daughters' lives. Any male reader (as I am), secure with himself and willing to think and learn will enjoy this novel. A wonderful read for a discussion group! Easily my favorite Alice Walker book to date.

Alice Walker takes the spiritual world and intertwines it with real life. While the reader may feel the story is about a father's relationship with his daughters, one can't help but get caught up in the relationship between the two sisters. Lesbianism still plays a part in "By the Light..." but there is not the heavy physical abuse of women by men in this book. In fact one could say in some respects it is a refreshing love story.

I purchased my version of Temple of My Familiar when I was working in Frankfurt, Germany. I didn't speak the language and stumbled across a kiosk in the center of the city that sold a few books in English and this was one of them. Not having read any Walker before, but knowing her reputation as a wonderful writer, I purchased the book and devoured it in one sitting. At first hungry for English, I realized I was savoring a masterpiece. Walker deftly intertwines the lives (and past lives) of numerous characters from the US, England, and Africa and gives incredible perspectives of many different perspectives of the native/colonial African experience as well as the experience of men and women in the racially divided US. I ended up rereading the book numerous times while in Europe and I periodically find myself rereading it every few months. Each character is on a personal journey to find themselves and honesty and caring for others is a key component to their discovery. A great message and a skillfully written book.

Alice Walker is a genius... she has a few problems with developing the male characters...but aside from that...PURE GENIUS. The messages were powerful and pure...the characters, particularly Lissie and Fanny was inspiring and the pace of the book left me hungry for more. It took me several weeks to read this novel because I didn't want it to end. I fell in love with the characters, the messages and myself. I know it sounds corny...but this book has changed my life...the way I think, the way I speak, the way I love. Those people who are satisfied with living a life of comformity will not like this book. Those who are rewarded for misusing others will not like this book. Those who are weak in mind and spirit will not like this book. Those who live with the guilt of causing misery will not this book. Those who want to be free...mentally, spiritually, and physically will "live" and "love" Temple of my Familiar.

I too was surprised by the other customer reviews and I feel the need to defend this extraordinary book that touched my life as no other before it has. There are many underlying messages in this novel that may remain unseen by one who reads what is merely on the surface. The imperfection of human emotion, the inexplicable forces of attraction, and the chains of one's past are all important issues that Ms. Walker delves into with style and grace. Yet at no time did I feel I was receiving too much information. On the contrary, I couldn't put the book down because I was so thirsty for more. The everyday, and not-so-everyday struggles of these amazing characters made these stories so touching and real that I found myself talking about them as if they were familiar friends. I feel that one of the most important issue that Ms. Walker deals with in this novel is the very true and very devastating change from the worship of the goddess to the god. She explains this transformation in such a way that any woman - or man for that matter - can understand and feel this pain as they should, for it affects all of our lives - now and forever. For those of you who have not read this book, please do so with an open heart and mind and I promise that you will receive the message that is meant for you. For those of you who have read it and did not understand it, I urge you to read again and again. You will see things that you never knew were there: in the book as well as inside yourself.

"Sent by Earth: A Message from the Grandmother Spirit after the Attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon," by Alice Walker, is a short text (57 pages) which attempts to deal with the ramifications of the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. The book is actually adapted from a speech which Walker gave to the Midwives Alliance of North America at Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 22, 2001.

Walker is a prolific and versatile African-American author, and having read much of her poetry and prose, I found "Sent by Earth" to be very much in tune with her work to date. Walker doesn't just discuss the September 11 attacks in this text. Her other topics include the history of racist oppression in the United States ("American Apartheid" as she calls it), female genital mutilation (which she wrote about in her book "Possessing the Secret of Joy"), African cultural tradition, the deaths of Iraqi children since Operation Desert Storm, the Taliban's oppression of women in Afghanistan, and more. Along the way she writes with admiration of such individuals as U.S. Congresswoman Barabara Lee and Buddhist peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. At the heart of Walker's book seems to be the question, "How do we reclaim a proper relationship with the world?"

"Sent by Earth" struck me as somewhat fragmented, as not fully formed. Nevertheless, Walker's passion for justice, compassion for other human beings, and multicultural vision shine through.

First off, I'd like to say thanks to the publisher for another fine addition to the Open Media Pamphlet series. We need you more than ever before!

I've never read anything by Alice Walker before and I was mildly surprised at how much I like her. What do you know, it does pay to expand your mind and read something unknown.

Although the book is incredibly small (the price is great though) Walker, in a speech on September 22nd to the Midwives Alliance of North America, is able to articulate her beliefs and give her take on the ways that we as a human race can deal with tragedy and violence in the world today.

I was slightly confused by some of the sections (maybe just not focused or maybe needs a second reading) but I feel that I was able to receive her message more or less. She feels that people don't feel connected or welcome in society and are unable to give voice to their concerns or anger in a acceptable manner. She also believes that a major source of violence today is caused by people who feel unloved. Therefore, the best way to fight anger or violence is with love.

I personally feel that this may be to simple of an answer, but I would like it to be the correct one. The world would be a better place if everyone shared some of Walker's beliefs.

I would like to give it five stars, but like I stated earlier, I found it confusing at times and difficult to fully comprehend. Like a great poem, maybe it will take on more significance with further readings.

It is no secret that Alice Walker is one of the most prolific writers of our time. GARDENING THE SOUL is an interesting audio program whereby Alice Walker speaks candidly with Michael Toms, the co-founder of New Dimensions Radio, on a variety of topics such as: church life in the deep South, stories of the Old Testament, the real meaning of Aunt Jemima, the importance of pagan nature, her impressions of Fidel Castro and Cuba, the real nature of human nature, and about herself as a writer.

I believe my favorite discussion on this tape centers on how her writings, which comes in many different forms, feed on each other. Believing that everything in life has its own distinct nature, she describes her writings as one big garden that comes from one life - her life. Therefore, she sees her poetry as roses. Her novels are like root crops because they are so dense and talk about things that are really under the ground and deep. Her short stories are like tomatoes that are tasty enough for one to make a lunch out of them and go about the day without being committed. Her essays are like asparagus, whereby one can crunch on those for a snack. In short, she sees her writings as one large field that's being tended. Each form of writings growing there are expressions of the reality of the person who creates them.

GARDENING THE SOUL is a stimulating audio program and without a doubt, Alice Walker is a frank and powerful thinker/writer. Even though I did not agree with all of her philosophies, I did find what she had to say in this hour-long program were thought provoking ideas on how to live well and find happiness in a complex world.

Zora Neal Hurston was an iconoclast. In her time her career suffered because she wasn't interested in writing the kind of stuff Langston Hughes and Richard Wright were churning out. The editors of this collection of excerpts of her major works are a lot like her critics. They try mightily to portray Zora as something she was not and are puzzled by Zora's statements that seem pretty straightforward to me. Read Zora's stories, folklore and especially the excerpt from her biography and skip the commentary.

This is a collection of non-fiction essays by the author of The Color Purple. Alice Walker speaks as a black woman, mother, and feminist. She writes about black women in relation to their families, mothers, and the world. She also discusses feminism, literature by other writers, the Civil Rights movement, and the anti-nuclear movement. Thoughtful reading!

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading "...Grange Copeland," I felt it was another version of "The Color Purple" minus the lesbian story-line. The male characters are harsh (much more so than the male characters in "The Color Purple") and relentless, but as in "The Color Purple" Ms. Walker tries to make the reader feel that they do have a "human" side. The female characters are strong-willed...as most of the female characters in "...Purple" were. What I enjoy most about Ms. Walker is she makes the reader feel so much a part of each character's life. The ending is somewhat a disappointment, i.e., comes too fast and too abrupt.

I enjoyed reading The Third Life of Grange Copeland because it left me, at the end of each chapter, wanting to know what would happen next. This novel was easy to read and understand. I recommend it to any age group from middle school or higher.

The Third Life of Grange Copeland is a superb book. The book spans three generations of the Copeland family.This book kept me interested because it demonstrates how a person can make sacrifices even in the worst of circumstances Grange Copeland tries to rectify his past(troubled son) by protecting his future (grand-daughter's life). Can he accomplish both? Find out and read the book!

First of all, Alice Walker is one of my favorite writers - she's probably in my all-time five favorites, if fact. This book is not her best, but it is very, very good.

The opening section, "To My Young Husband," is wonderful and beautiful and brilliant. The rest of the book, unfortunately, is not quite so good - some of the stories are excellant, but some of the others are, at least by Walker's standards, rather mediocre. Still, I'd definitely reccond this book to any fan of Alice Walker's books.

Every writer should be gifted with the same ability to impart thought and knowledge that Alice Walker does with her genius gift for the written and spoken word. This book once again proves that America has a writer whose very brilliance of thought makes her an example of "Must Reading." Her initial essay "To My Young Husband" is so beautifully moving and written that you feel like holding both of them in your heart. The rest of the book is basically fictional, with autobiographical overtones, and, like all of her other books, should be required reading for those interested in fine literature.

alice walker weaves her ideas very subtly into her stories. her books contain a philosophy but it manages to inhance not detract from the novel itself. The short stories in the way forward is with a broken heart are her most successful yet. She explores emotions and reactions to love so deep you can't imagine it going away. Her narrative is natural, you can taste her discriptions. The stories can be absolutely heartbreaking but they feel peaceful too. a wonderful book, I fully recommend it.