Wendy Brown-Baez
Writing for Healing: words to light our way
A woman’s healing journey begins in a country embroiled in relentless turmoil.
In Israel, Palestinian frustration for a homeland erupts in strikes, demonstrations and suicide bombings and Israeli military responds with tear gas, arrests, and house demolitions. Lily Ambrosia and Rainbow Dove arrive in Haifa with their children on a pilgrimage. Lily’s fascination with Jewish culture inspires her to dream she can plant roots in the Holy Land. She falls in love with the land itself, with its people, and with Levi, a charming enigma, dangerous but irresistible. Eventually she is fully immersed in Israeli life. Her son rebels against the lifestyle she has chosen and war with Syria looms on the horizon. Will she be able to stay?
"Wendy's writing is beautiful and honest..." --Margo Dill
"Because the authenticity of the character arises from Wendy Baez’s own emotional complexity, her supposedly fictional novel took me on one of the most authentic searches for self I have ever read." --Jerry Waxler, author of Memoir Revolution
Plain View Press
Ceremonies of the Spirit
travels a spiral from infatuation to consecration.
Ceremonies has been called "gorgeous", "exquisite", "flirty", and "joyous work that should be celebrated...engrossing, vibrant, honest, theatrical, mystical, lyrical, poignant, passionate, expressive, ceremonial, heart-achieving, soul-renewing..."
Here are poems that are living, breathing things; that invite us into them, welcome us into their elegant, ethereal dance, and walk us across the threshold into sanctuary where we look inward, feed the soul's spark, commune with enlightenment, and transform.
--Michael Parker, Oranges & Sardines
Ceremonies of the Spirit takes us on a journey from surrendering the things—and people—we love, to being transformed as a result of that process. The poems in this collection are rich with images that ...remind us what it’s like to be human. --John Medeiros, author of Couplets for a Shrinking World
Finishing Line Press
transparencies of light articulates a woman’s point of view: whether virgin, mother or grandmother, single or in love, hooker or Goth rocker, dancer or dreamer, friends or sisters, from the pueblo or the big city, in troubled places or in quiet solitude, she speaks up with passion and courage. These women are survivors. From the birth of their children to the birth of themselves, they remove the veils of invisibility to voice their stories and to reveal their destinies.
transparencies of light draws out the universally, transcendently
human in the particular (the mother who startles the doctor with the strength of her grip as she demands the birth of her child; the woman whose tears seal the prayer at the Western Wall; the shattered souvenir happening upon the frightened yet determined Israeli soldiers). They reveal the face of the Spiritual in the world as a daily reality --Ned Haggard, author of Weave of the Sea
Catch a Dream
read the review on Memory Writers Network
"Being on a spiritual journey, the last thing you think will happen is a love story, but this book has it all. The suspense of what Lily will do after meeting the love of her life was exhilarating and kept us enthralled. What we loved the most about this book was the absolute beauty of the author’s words that had us right there. In Israel, learning the culture, enjoying the people, the land, the cafe’s and the amazing country that is in such turmoil but yet so beautiful. A perfect book for summer. " --Zen Again Blog.
"I absolutely loved how this book not only tells a story, but scaffolds learning about worlds some of us have never seen or experienced. The deep look into religion, self-reflection, and finding your happy place are all themes that resonate with so many."
--Strength4spouses
"In this marvelous novel of insight and struggle, both the personal and the impersonal progress, and observations are drawn and shared. It's at times nearly alive with a truth-shimmering, perhaps mystical value." --Ned Haggard, Chicago Life