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    The Lotus: A Story of Transformation
    The Lotus: A Story of Transformation
    The Lotus: A Story of Transformation
    Ebook50 pages1 hour

    The Lotus: A Story of Transformation

    By Mary Peros

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    It is the 1960s, and teenager Deena is an unhappy, angry, and rebellious girl. Confined to bed after a bike accident, she is visited by a mysterious stranger who takes her on a life journey of self-discovery, surrender, acceptance, and compassion.



    Life doesnt always go as planned, in fact, it rarely does; however, the greatest gift you can give yourself is faith that whatever happens actually is the plan.



    She closed her eyes and drifted off. At first it sounded as if someone was humming a tune outside, then she blinked open her eyes to see a hazy figure of a young man, leaning, arms folded, against the window.



    Who are you? she sat up, wide-eyed. She couldnt be sure, but it seemed he had some sort of wings attached to his back. He was wearing a loose grey sweatshirt, black gym pants, and had the presence of a majestic eagle. He had strong, manly features, warm brown eyes, the colour of melted chocolate, and dark, wavy hair.



    Wow, she thought, unreal!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBalboa Press
    Release dateAug 1, 2014
    ISBN9781452516394
    The Lotus: A Story of Transformation
    Author

    Mary Peros

    MARY PEROS was born in Alexandria, Egypt, but she was raised and educated in Sydney. Her interest in human behaviour led her to study Eastern philosophy and traditions. Mary inspires and illuminates people through her yoga and meditation classes. You’ll find her blissfully walking along the beach or enjoying the occasional fudge brownie.

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    • 4/5
      The narrator of this book is recalling the story of her grandmother, who saw the Vietnamese Emperor cry. Snatching a lotus seed from the palace, by which to remember him always, her grandmother keeps it in a safe place with her. In elegant prose, we see a compressed history of grandmother, from marriage through her flight from Vietnam as a refugee, and the seed is always with her. In her new life in America, grandmother passes on her story to her grandchildren. Her youngest is so curious that he takes the seed and buries it. Grandmother is at first devastated, but she soon learns the regenerative power of the lotus seed.The story is beautiful, and discusses hefty subject matter in a simple and eloquent style. I love the symbol of the lotus seed as hope and rebirth, and the image of grandmother as a repository of important history and knowledge. I feel a lack of deep family roots in my own history, which makes me particularly like to read it of other families, even fictional. Also, the tale touches the heart with its understated poignancy.
    • 4/5
      This historical fiction is a beautiful story that allows readers to get a glimpse of the value of history for Vietnamese people. The Lotus Seed tells the story of a woman who sees the emperor loose his throne, experience war, and immigrate to the United States. This book is appropriate intermediate readers.
    • 4/5
      An unusual book of Vietnamese culture. I like it. It carries through the generations and outlines many of the important moments in Vietnamese history with a nice synopsis of the events mentioned within right at the end. It's unusual for its topic and it's well presented for its audience.
    • 3/5
      Years ago, a grandmother (before she was a grandmother), collected and saved a lotus seed, the day the emperor of Vietnam was overthrown. Decades later, when war came, she left Vietnam, but made sure to take her precious lotus seed with her, leaving other items behind. She traveled by boat to a new country with "a language she didn't understand." In this new country, she "worked many years, day and night." After many years passed, her grandson planted the seed, and a gorgeous lotus blossom grew. The grandmother distributed the flowers' seeds, and her granddaughter saved hers in a hidden spot in her room, just as her grandmother had done many years before. This story, written by Sherry Garland, is further explained through oil paintings, by illustrator Tatsuro Kiuchi. Pages show scenes from Vietnam, including a field full of lotus plants, as well as an image from the war-torn country, with bombs causing the sky to appear black with smoke. Readers see the rough sea, on which the grandmother traveled, and the overwhelming foreign city, in which she shared a crowded home. The text tells the story of the grandmother's life, with each page marking a milestone in her journey. Garland mentions events in minimal phrases, with each sentence conveying a significant period. She notes that the grandmother, "married a young man chosen by her parents," and later, "soldiers clamored door to door." Young readers can gain insight into a period of history, which has repeated itself in many countries, in which people escape their native homes during times of war. Readers will see the importance of carrying the past into the future, and sharing memories with future generations.

    Book preview

    The Lotus - Mary Peros

    Copyright © 2014 Mary Peros.

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

    Balboa Press

    A Division of Hay House

    1663 Liberty Drive

    Bloomington, IN 47403

    www.balboapress.com

    1 (877) 407-4847

    Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

    The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

    Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

    Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

    ISBN: 978-1-4525-1638-7 (sc)

    ISBN: 978-1-4525-1640-0 (hc)

    ISBN: 978-1-4525-1639-4 (e)

    Library of Congress Control Number: 2014910084

    Balboa Press rev. date: 07/25/2014

    Contents

    Part One

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Part Two

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

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    Dedicated to

    ‘Michael and Annie…

    &

    all the dreamers’

    36393.png

    Part One

    Chapter One

    Deena knew it was five o’clock by the slant of the shadow on her bedroom door. That, and the cacophony of birds settling for the night on the huge oak outside, told her that yet another day was coming to an end. She had lain in bed for three weeks now; with a crushed ankle and fractured ribs – the result of a bicycle accident still fresh in her mind. Exactly three weeks earlier she had gone bike riding. The ground had been slippery from the heavy downpour of the previous night, and she’d slid on a grassy slope and tumbled into a tree trunk, the handle bars digging into her ribs, her foot caught between her and the wheel. It had been hours before her parents had found her, and their relief had quickly turned to anger. She was supposed to be studying, not riding her bike.

    The doctor had warned her, Six weeks bed rest, if you don’t want to end up with a permanent limp. Now she was missing out on school, swimming and netball, but more than anything, she missed her friends. At fifteen, she had better things to do than lay in bed all day… and six weeks was a long time.

    Her parents both worked full time, and since she didn’t care much for TV, her only companions had been the radio and magazines.

    She knew all the hits by heart, and began humming

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