Tapestry
The Journey of Laurel Lee  
By Laurel Lee

    I had seen some of this author's past work which began in the 1970s with Walking Through The Fire. When I opened this book, I didn't expect to finish it, or even to read it. Though it is a collection of journal entries, Laurel tells such a compelling story, with such provocative word usage, that I was pulled into the book from the first page, and several hours went by before I came back to the real world. I laughed with her and cried for her.

   Laurel and her new husband, Richard, hitchhiked to Alaska to get their share of free government land and build a primitive life on the last frontier. After 10 years of hardscrabble living, Laurel was diagnosed with terminal Hodgkin's Disease. She surprised everyone by surviving that terrifying disease with the help of her faith in God. Her husband was not able to deal with the problems of a terminally ill wife. He abandoned her and their three children to fend for themselves, and ran away with the babysitter.

    She put her troubles in writing and was surprised when Walking Through the Fire was so well received, and it helped relieve her financial strain. Laurel's triumphant spirit and her faith in her God shines through the journal entries which tell of the decades of her life. The journal takes her through two more marriages, and worldwide travels with her children, always knowing that cancer could reoccur at any time. Her exquisite drawings and family photos add to our feeling of knowing Laurel Lee intimately. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this wonderful book. Her writing style is incomparable and her way with words is mesmerizing.

    I stayed with her for the duration of her Journey, and what a trip it was! What an indomitable lady! This book makes me wish I could have known her.