“In this memoir we are drawn into the experience of a lonely child whose heart is opened by the birth of her brother, and then, suddenly, slammed shut. Decades later, after a transformative spiritual journey around the world, she is given the opportunity, in the most unexpected way, to reopen her heart and develop a mature love through the nurturing of another small child with special needs, staying focused on offering herself in selfless devotion to his well-being. I was fascinated by the ways they bring out the best in each other as he grows into manhood.”
—Carolyn Allen Zeiger, PhD, author of Doing it All Isn’t Everything
An Unexpected Journey, Perfect Timing, and Small Miracles
Description
Odile Atthalin was a young woman from a prominent, bourgeois family in Paris when she decided to leave home in search of meaning. All she knew was that she wanted to go East; but once she had separated from France and committed to creating a new life for herself, opportunities fell into place.
After years of travels around the world, including a life-changing four years in an Indian ashram, Atthalin settled in Berkeley, CA, where she found all she needed: her first real home; a godson with special needs to nurture, to whom she became a devoted godmother; and a subculture of seekers, writers, guides, healers, artists, and spiritual creatives—a diverse tribe in which she could fit and finally felt she belonged.