Barbara Wheeler Books

Through the poems in The Dream Women Called, Lori Wilson attends to the spirits of depression, uncertainty, and fear while wondering at the beauty in what's broken, the remarkable in the ordinary, and the balm that the natural world can offer. Following a single speaker, we're reminded how many lives one woman can live. This book is about crossing into a new version of your own story--after a marriage ends, the parents die, the children are grown, or the faith is discarded--and finding a place to stand, a new way to take up space in the world. Uniting past and present, these poems create multifaceted portraits, particularly of relationships between mothers and daughters. Wilson's poems sift through memory, dreams, art, imagination, nature, and close observation, turning each discovery over in order to see it fully. Beneath the fine-grained imagery of these lyric excavations are the sometimes opposing but fundamental desires to be whole and to be seen, which often means looking within as well as turning toward the world outside. The speaker is listening always for the dream women who call, for whatever may beckon from the present and future, preparing her in some way for a life that's truly hers.

Set in a remote Mayan village in southern Belize, this narrative follows a young volunteer's experiences in a challenging yet enchanting environment devoid of modern conveniences. The story humorously explores the local culture and the volunteer's encounters with various "tigers," metaphorical challenges that include wildlife and health issues. Through witty anecdotes, it paints a vivid picture of Mayan life and the resilience of its people, offering readers a delightful glimpse into a world where time appears to stand still.