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The Search for the Grail from a Woman’s Perspective In the tradition of renowned contemporary women authors like Isabel Allende and Maya Angelou comes an intuitive voice with a moving story about the relationships women share with each other, their children, the men in their lives, and the impact those relationships have on their identities. Therèse Tappouni, poet, artist, mother and community activist, recognized that the legendary "quest" story, depicted in classics as old as The Odyssey and as new as Rocky, relates specifically to men. Women, Tappouni suggests, experience similar quests but are often ignored in literature. Instead of exterior searches for the Holy Grail, women discover the gifts of wisdom, love and truth within themselves - in their own hearts. The often overlooked and unappreciated emotions that define womanhood are explored with startling insight in Tappouni’s novel, A Time to Reap (Whole Heart Publishing, March 2004, ISBN 0-9705500-2-2, $14.95). From overcoming the guilt that accompanies losing a child, and the self-esteem blows that occur when a relationship fails, Tappouni captures the essence of what it means to be a mother, wife, woman and friend. With poignant honesty and eloquence, it is clear that Tappouni writes from the heart. Her writing and her life were transformed by the death of her son and later by the collapse of her marriage. A Time to Reap follows Maureen Manley, a mother of three who begins to unravel emotionally as she watches her two youngest children leave for college. Flashbacks to the death of her oldest child 17 years earlier set her on the path to seek happiness outside her role as wife and mother. While dealing with profound emotional and physical challenges, Maureen discovers her passion and purpose in a timeless story about the wisdom women can impart to each other as well as future generations. Unexpectedly, she finds that passionate love can arrive at any age. "Women constantly struggle to balance how much they give to others and how much they give to themselves," says Tappouni. "In going toward a complete life, they are unprepared for how much must be left behind." Prologue The scent of seaweed rose from his shoulders, and all around them mist and fog drifted inthe candlelight. Their skin wore delicate drops of moisture. His hands knew her, had sculpted her from stone, and she lifted toward him with a cry of recognition born in a long ago time. His cry matched hers, floating out of the garden and joining the calls of seabirds riding the Pacific currents. Later, he covered her with a blanket from his studio. He stroked her hair, her face.Neither spoke, but fell into dreamless sleep curled into each other. The next morning, Maureen awoke to the sounds of birds and the smell of coffee andbiscuits. She would meditate near the water and hold this to herself for a while longer. The usual wisps of mist blew across the windows as she slipped into a sweater and out the back door, the sensations of joy and satisfaction flooding her like warm brandy. Her body seemed to walk ahead, unaware of the light rain or the clouds lowering on the horizon. The temperature dropped, but Maureen walked in a cocoon of sunshine. The fog thickened as she neared the ocean, the surf booming far below. She looked around, puzzled, her smile fading. She must have missed the path. The fog swirled at her feet, parted briefly to reveal the rocky coast, then closed again. She heard a muffled voice calling, but the fog tricked the ear so she couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. She'd better go back to the lodge. Brigit had warned them about how quickly the fog could move in, but she wouldn't have been able to imagine this. She turned back the way she thought she had come, and the earth opened underneath her. She hit her head as she slid through the jagged rocks, felt herself flung like a rag doll into the freezing whirlpool below. Some part of her remembered she hadn’t told Brigit about the break in the cliff. She could hear her name as the water closed over her head, the pain erased in the ice-blue cold. She heard the voice pleading for her to stop and wait for him. She was falling, but without fear, lightly, as if she had wings. The frigid water turned herblood to shards of crystal, piercing her heart, before the surf pulled her out and under, into a soothing blue warmth. She felt solid, sleek, and powerful as she spiraled deeper. Others escorted her descent, their skin gleaming in the purple light cutting through the midnight waters. Her breathing was one with the water, the rocks, the seals that called to her in their mournful human voices. She gave up to the unknown, floating alone into a familiar cave, her eyes flared like anemones. The walls of the cave trembled and leaned inward as the tide surged, licking up the rocks like tongues of cold fire. A whirlpool pulled her backwards, swirled her toward the entrance that was slowly filling with the tide. It was then that she saw him suspended in front of her, the water around him shimmering, his long hair caressing the tenderness of his neck and shoulders. Supported by her book Walking Your Walk: A Woman’s Guide to a Spirit Filled Life, Tappouni conducts workshops entitled "Recovering Your Passion and Purpose" for women in search of meaning in life, love and work. Her other writings include Lot’s Wife, and a piece in the Grammy nominated anthology Grow Old Along With Me, The Best is Yet to Be. Tappouni lives in Indian Shores, Fla. with her life partner, Lance. Together they penned Night Gardening: Passionate Poems for the Beloved, the first ever book of poetry, written by two poets in English, to follow the course of a relationship. To schedule an interview with Therese Tappouni, or to request a review copy of A Time to Reap, please contact Therese. 
We'd love to hear from you. E-mail us at lanceware1@aol.com TTappouni@aol.com
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