Photo Credit: Shruthi Rajasekar

Excerpt of the text: 

The sun is warm, the horizon soft and vague. The air is cool. She sends out her raw heart. Circling rings expand with light. She feels open and sore as she stands before the light, the Great Spirit, the essence, the mystery. When she stands her full height, the world goes mute. She encompasses everything.

​

-from The Long-Shining Waters by Danielle Sosin, 2011 © Milkweed Editions 

​

​

In Danielle Sosin's beautiful novel, this quiet excerpt spoke to me the most: the character has faced several difficulties and, in the process, has lost sight of herself. This scares her more than anything; she wakes up feeling especially low. But by focusing on the light dancing on the lake and its calm waters, the smell of the pine trees, and the energy in her own body, she is able to calm herself in that moment. Her external stressors are very real, and won't necessarily go away, but by mediating -- by giving herself the gift of the present -- she finds her own peace.                    

​

Winner of the Global Music in Women Award from the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights and Fondazione Adkins Chiti Donne in Musica, 2018