Crack at Dusk: Crook of Dawn [signed]

"In this universe, there are Good Spirits, Trickster Spirits, and Evil Spirits," announced Winona, the elderly Sioux medicine woman, to psychologist, Dr. Meggie O'Connor, before departing to the Other Side. Whereas bestsellers "Winona's Web," and "Compass of the Heart" introduced the reader to the realms of the Good Spirits and the Trickster Spirits, "Crack At Dusk:Crook of Dawn" draws the reader into the vortex of evil. In this lyrical tale of love and healing, Winona's Cousin, Hawk, and Meggie struggle to find common ground to help Winona's grandson make sense of a terrible, traumatic experience. "The boy's soul has been stolen," proclaims Hawk, but Meggie scoffs, "It's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." While their love for each other is intense, their two worlds grow far apart in comprehending evil and the way back to wholeness. A spiritual leader among his people, Hawk believes in the power of spells while Meggie affirms free will and the teachings of Western medicine. Together, the two of them must rediscover the healing power of the Pipe, stories and the human imagination. Love is always at the center as Crack at Dusk: Crook of Dawn delves into the bi-cultural conflict between the Lakota medicine man and the psychologist, the spiritual canyon between Meggie's feminist colleague and a Christian minster, the dissolution of a marriage between parents over the loss of a child, and the healing love of women for damaged children not their own. As with the two previous books in the Winona trilogy, Priscilla Cogan weaves her incandescent tale of archetypal themes through the contrasting life vision of Lakota, psychological and Christian perspectives. From such different viewpoints, the healing comes in a journey of discovery.