Letters From August: A Rite of Passage Story

If you have a robust imagination, an earthy spirituality, and just love a cozy read by the fireplace, you may find yourself swept up in August Goodwin’s story. This novel contains the letters of a rural young man, barely twenty, who finds himself on an adventure that becomes his unexpected Rite of Passage. Travel along with August as he writes letters about his experiences and insights to his older mentor, who responds in kind, giving feedback based on his own years of exploration, contemplation, and experience. Throughout the journey, the work supplies food for thought and inspiration. Yet more than a Rite of Passage book, this is, in a sense, a teaching story touching on contemporary issues of concern. This journey includes travel away from his rural home, out of his innocence, and brings him face-to-face with current real-world circumstances that awaken his heart and help him look deeper into the forces that are shaping his life and today's world. As the reader, you witness August's changing perceptions and watch him transform and grow.

Mixed within a background of contemplative thought, August weaves his way into physical and emotional health, environmental and sustainability concerns, Native American knowledge and suffering, racial privilege, the renaissance of feminine energy, and personal relationships. The story deepens as it twists and turns, has a touch of the mystic, and finally, a "coming home." The story has just a hint of the archetypal theme of the Hero’s Journey.