Firstlight.

By Sue Monk Kidd (GuidepostsBooks, 2006)

It is not often that writers take the time to revisit their past work. Once an essay has been published they usually focus on the next project at hand. For a New York Times bestselling author, the chance to unpack the past is rare. But that is exactly what Sue Monk Kidd has done in her newest book, Firstlight: The Early Inspirational Writings of Sue Monk Kidd.

Kidd is best known for her novels The Secret Life of Bees (Viking, 2002) and The Mermaid Chair (Viking, 2005), as well as other books of inspirational writing. But it is her earliest work primarily published in Guideposts magazine that is the focus of this newest project. This collection of essays and stories offers insight into the evolution of a soul. Kidd herself writes, "The question 'Who am I?' reverberates quietly in these pages, as does a willingness to be known."

Kidd gracefully divides the book into 13 categories that give insight into the steps necessary to opening oneself to the presence of the Divine. Through chapters on "Compassion." "Awareness," "Gracious Space," and "Letting Go," among others, Kidd invites readers to dig deeper into the stuff of everyday life to see how connected each of our stories are with the soul or as she puts it, "'a soulful being together' between the reader and the author."

Kidd fans will revel in the ability to get to know her even better through the pages of this book. In the essays she reflects on her childhood, her time as a nurse, and her years as a wife and mother. But even readers who have never read any of her work will find this book a welcome companion on the journey into their own soul. Her style is simple and humble. And there is quiet inspiration to be found as she shares her stories of opening up--sometimes easily and sometimes with feet dug in deep--to the interior life that she refers to as the "firstlight"--"the moments when the light broke and your heart opened."