Nature and Other Mothers: Reflections on the Feminine in Everyday Life

Rooted in personal experience, these diverse essays, moved to next sentence; essays, not Duck and Cover, are reprinted reprinted from Seattle Weekly , Lear's and other publications, move on to larger concerns with persuasive grace. In ``The Power of the Blood,'' for instance, Peterson, author of the fine novel Duck and Cover , considers abortion within the framework of its occurrence in her family, which led to one sister's vehement pro-life stance. Then, in a night-long menstruation ritual of cleansing and meditation in a moon lodge, the menstrual hut of Native American tradition, the author perceives the possibility of a compassion-filled rite of abortion that might ease the psychic pain of the act. While arguing that femininity is empowered by a strong connection to the natural world, she celebrates with equal exuberance the pleasures of such technologies as the telephone, Walkmen and the nation's highway and railway systems. Whether reflecting on the impact of a friend's suicide, discussing three favorite indomitable aunts of the Ozarks or describing marathon cross-country drives and train trips with her siblings, Peterson writes a vital, intimate prose that energizes readers with its intelligence and good humor. (May)