Carol O’Biso. This is a great book, if a little vague and new-agey in spots. It was just as good a read as the first time I read it, some years ago. I tracked it down at Powell’s since my local library system didn’t even list it. (It’s out of print.) I just wish I could find out more about O’Biso’s life since the events of the book.
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Having just read “First Light”, I agree that it’s a good read, though the reviewer’s comments that it’s “a bit new agey” in spots eludes me. A 20th century woman who has a spiritual experience of taonga from a culture that dates back at least 1000 years here in New Zealand, is no more “new agey” than the ecstasies experienced by St. John of the Cross and expressed in his poetry. One of O’Briso’s points in “First Light” is precisely that most westerners have lost the ability, not to have these experiences, but to have the courage to admit having done so — whether through contact with a culture foreign to those of our upbringing, or whether through Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity or any of the myriad spiritual beliefs found here on earth. These are the things that unify all humanity in these times when governments and corporations would have them tear all humanity apart. As for O’Briso’s most recent work, a couple of years ago her name came up as a member of the Gardiner Association for Responsible Development based, I think, in New York. Guess she’s no longer living in New Zealand — or perhaps she divides her time between NZ and the US.