"Through the spaces between people in these beguiling fictions, love
wanders like a ghost, offering whispered hints of solace against a
backdrop of isolating divisions. In the spirit of the enigmatic stories
of Lydia Davis, Isak Dinesen, Yasunari Kawabata, and other masters of
the ironic parable . . . " --Kim Stafford, author of 100 Tricks Every
Boy Can Do
In In Time's Shadow, minister, author, and activist Marilyn Sewell
reflects on the everyday--the places we live and work, the thoughts we
all have but hardly ever share--though these musings may carry the most
profound of our human concerns. Using a variety of short literary forms,
ranging from dramatic monologues, vignettes, and letters, to prose
poems, fantasy, and more, Sewell's fiction offers insightful,
compassionate slices of life that will bring laughter and, at the same
time, take you deeper into the mysteries of life: a lonely woman is
distressed because her plant has stopped blooming; marriage partners
talk past each other in a therapy session; a man comes across a ragtag
street band in New Orleans and reconsiders his life choices. These
short, compelling readings reveal the cultural incongruities and
inanities that crowd our lives. We love, we lose, we die, and through it
all, we ask, "What's it all about?" Sewell invites us to ponder with her
and perhaps come to trust our common humanity and our most noble
instincts.
