Eyes of the Mirror

Readers are calling "Eyes of the Mirror" "powerful," "provocative," and "beautifully written." The book is about coming to the end of one life and having to construct another. It's about shedding an old identity and generating a new one from the inside out--by trial and error. When the author is forced to close out her life as a potter and T'ai Chi teacher at the age of 48 and embark on a second adulthood, she doesn't know how radical the metamorphosis will be. Within 3 years she is close to death from misdiagnosed type-1 diabetes. The availability of injectable insulin gives her a chance at a new life, a shortcut to reincarnation. "Eyes of the Mirror" is a self-portrait of a whole person--the view looking out and the view looking in. Emerson is an independent woman; an educated, rational Westerner steeped in Eastern philosophy who uses T'ai Chi, meditation, visions, and dreams to sustain and guide her. Her writing interweaves intellect and intuition. The focus of her life is knitting together conscious and subconscious, shaping an exterior that's an authentic reflection of her interior. The narrative moves back and forth between South Korea where the author taught English and studied T'ai Chi for 2 years and the American Pacific Northwest where she earned a master's in writing, taught T'ai Chi, and eventually resettled. The 2 locations cast light on each other and help the writer to see herself.