Synopsis: What if your ten-year-old child knew more about your past than anyone in the world – even you? Orphaned when her mother died in childbirth, Sheri Lambert is a lonely New York ad woman who decides to become a single mother. From the start, her son Zig displays strange behavior: He recalls people and places he couldn't possibly know and leads Sheri to a startling discovery of a hidden ancestry she never knew existed. From the urban grind of present-day Brooklyn to the shamans and rituals in the rain forests of 19th century Panama and Costa Rica, two interwoven stories collide. Sheri learns she must find the courage to trust Zig and his mystical guidance to uncover the secrets of her past...or remain lost from herself and the truth about her origins.
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Author Bio:
Annette Vendryes Leach began her career as a copywriter for a Madison Avenue ad agency. For years she wrote magazine, radio and TV ads for everything from soda to the CIA. Following her passion for books, she founded and ran a direct mail literary book club. Annette graduated from The New School majoring in Creative Writing and Comparative Religion. She is currently working on a sequel to Song of the Shaman and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two sons.
Annette Vendryes Leach began her career as a copywriter for a Madison Avenue ad agency. For years she wrote magazine, radio and TV ads for everything from soda to the CIA. Following her passion for books, she founded and ran a direct mail literary book club. Annette graduated from The New School majoring in Creative Writing and Comparative Religion. She is currently working on a sequel to Song of the Shaman and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two sons.
Why I wrote this book:
SONG OF THE SHAMAN was inspired by two particular family stories:
1) The mystical things my sons told me when they were very little about their past lives and where they were before they were born. Their striking stories led me to ponder questions of identity — who are we really, what does the knowledge of past lives bring to the present, and why?
2) I wrote this book as a tribute to my mother and grandmother. I discovered late in life that my grandmother was orphaned when her mother died in childbirth. My mother had very little success tracing my grandmother’s origins in Panama. What I remember most about my grandmother is the vacant look on her face, her far away eyes. Today I attribute that look to her lost ancestry. With the few facts I had I began to create a story for my grandmother, as a way to honor her and give her a history.
In the end, the process of weaving SONG OF THE SHAMAN’S historical love story with the contemporary single mother’s search for her origins transformed me as a writer and storyteller.
Available in Paperback and Ebook. Audiobook in Fall 2014SONG OF THE SHAMAN was inspired by two particular family stories:
1) The mystical things my sons told me when they were very little about their past lives and where they were before they were born. Their striking stories led me to ponder questions of identity — who are we really, what does the knowledge of past lives bring to the present, and why?
2) I wrote this book as a tribute to my mother and grandmother. I discovered late in life that my grandmother was orphaned when her mother died in childbirth. My mother had very little success tracing my grandmother’s origins in Panama. What I remember most about my grandmother is the vacant look on her face, her far away eyes. Today I attribute that look to her lost ancestry. With the few facts I had I began to create a story for my grandmother, as a way to honor her and give her a history.
In the end, the process of weaving SONG OF THE SHAMAN’S historical love story with the contemporary single mother’s search for her origins transformed me as a writer and storyteller.
Publisher:
MindPress Media
Pages: 257
ISBN: 978-0-9894912-0-4 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-9894912-1-1 (ebook)
Book News:
- Interview on Lifetime Movie Network's (LMN) Ghost Inside My Child Season 2: The inspiration for Song of the Shaman will be featured on the Saturday, August 30th airing of Ghost Inside My Child Season 2. In the episode entitled Tribal Quest, interviews and reenactments with Annette Leach, her son, and husband explore her son's past life recollections in this documentary series. Click here for a preview of Season 2
- Audiobook Release: Song of the Shaman audiobook will be released in Fall 2014
My review
This story of a boy named Zig is captivating and exciting to say the very least. The mother's love that shows through in this novel shines brightly through every page. I had goose bumps as I was reading this book. I am very happy that I was able to read this. I give this book a 4/5. I was given this book for the purpose of a review and all opinions are my own.
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Have you tried to do Genealogical research on your grandmother's side? I ask because genealogy is my hobby.
ReplyDeleteDear Cheryl,
DeleteI'm just now seeing your question! Yes, I did extensive genealogical research on my grandmother. However, the information I found was very limited because she was adopted. What I did discover inspired me to create this story, which is part fact and fiction. Even though she died over 30 years ago, writing has brought me closer to her. I continue to search for records and hope to one day uncover the truth of my grandmother's ancestry.
Dear Cheryl,
DeleteI'm just now seeing your question! Yes, I did extensive genealogical research on my grandmother. However, the information I found was very limited because she was adopted. What I did discover inspired me to create this story, which is part fact and fiction. Even though she died over 30 years ago, writing has brought me closer to her. I continue to search for records and hope to one day uncover the truth of my grandmother's ancestry.
How has your son living a past life affected you? How does he handle it well?
ReplyDeleteDear Lori,
DeleteI'm just getting to see this. Great question! My son started telling me about his past life when he was three years-old. He is now 18 years-old, and the memory has mostly faded. What has remained is my memory of the events, as I kept it alive to write this story. When I look back I can see that though the time and setting has changed in this life, his attitude, outlook, habits and courageous perspective has the same quality of the person he took himself to be in the past. In other words, his character has not changed.