Emily D. and You and Me: Women Reflect on Identity, Trauma, Housekeeping, Death, Gardens, and Awakening

This books invites us to think for ourselves about what gives us meaning. As one of the book's two main characters, Emily Dickinson wrote for the ages but not for herself. She closed off her heart rather than tell what would ravage the hearts of others. After a "visit" from Emily, the author decided to invent a journal for her drawn from her letters and poetry. She gives Emily a prose voice. This journal makes up half the book. The other half is counterpoint reflections from the author's own journals. The two of them reflect, through the themes, on issues women have faced throughout history. One of the themes is Awakening. This led to journal entries about archetypes--an image that fed their spirits and kept their feet on the ground. Readers are challenged to claim an archetype of their own. This is the author's idea for supplanting old order and roles with a method for re-ordering from the impetus of an archetype. Eventually, this book attempts to articulate her understanding of what Emily's appearance intended. She suggests what Emily suppressed. Both voices are heard.