Blooming! Book

In 1993, I started my own publishing company - this, after nearly twenty years of being published by others. I wanted the way I made my books and eased them into the world to reflect the kinship themes expressed in their pages. I hoped to add my voice to those who were doing business differently, who were as eager (more eager) to give back as they were to take in. Often, simple kindnesses are all we can offer a troubled world. Yet simple can be grand, and good enough - resounding in ways we can only begin to imagine. Heartsong Books was born from these intentions. For me, Choices of a Growing Woman is living proof that all human beings at all times have in them all the wisdom they need, to experience lives that are bountiful and true. I wrote Choices in the late seventies. The book is a synthesis of two other books I was writing at the time. During the time I was writing Choices, I'd barely heard of the words guru or tofu. What I understood about Buddhism would have filled only a thimble. I was writing from my heart and from my experience. I was claiming responsibility for my life, and this was new courage for me. I was saying that my greatest hope for the book I was writing was that it would inspire others to look at their own lives differently. I was talking about service, though in different words then. I wrote about balance, about harmony, about awareness and attention, about honesty. I remember wanting to speak clearly without using catchwords. In my view, Choices spoke of each person's capacity to be his or her own expert--that we can barely be experts regarding ourselves, let alone each other, so how could I presume to know what was best for another person. I could only reveal my own experience and see if others found truth there, for themselves. . .