Under the Bridges at Arroyo del Rey: The Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life

UNDER THE BRIDGES AT ARROYO DEL REY: THE SALON ON THE SPIRITUALLY CREATIVE LIFE is an inspirational book appealing to a public searching for a deeper and more meaningful life. Its focus is on the power of positive thought to lift one out of the mundane and into a more fulfilling existence. Author Carol Soucek King, MFA, PhD, uses her home, Arroyo del Rey*, which she and her husband Richard King created with architects Conrad Buff III and Don Hensman in Pasadena, California, as a metaphor for finding one's own perfect dwelling place. Yet as she reminds the reader throughout, finding one's "real" estate is a quest that must begin with being harmoniously "at home" with one's inner being. Through the shared wisdom and true stories of friends, acquaintances and speakers at King's monthly Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life, the healing nature of King's message becomes obvious: our lives can be changed beyond imagining through a commitment to reversing that which is negative and empowering that which is uplifting and spiritual. As The Salon itself has become a vehicle for sustaining such thought since King founded it in 1996, she has concluded the book with a helpful section, "Create Your Own Salon." Capturing the essence of each of the book's ten "Tales" are the sensitive sketches by artist/illustrator/book designer Miller Yee Fong. *Arroyo del Rey has been designated a Historic Monument by the City of Pasadena, and in the future will be given to the University of Southern California's School of Architecture to become the USC Carol Soucek King and Richard King Center for Architecture, Arts and the Humanities in perpetuity.

Carol Soucek King, MFA, PhD, has always believed that the only aspect of our life on earth worth expressing is its spiritual nature. This is what she has hoped to emphasize through her community involvement, her ongoing support of international cultural exchange, and through her professional activities - actress, teacher, drama critic, newspaper writer and editor, magazine editor, and author of twelve books on the design of homes and gardens throughout the world. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband Richard King and it is there where in 1996 she founded The Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life. The Salon is usually held in their home which the Kings built with architects Conrad Buff III, FAIA, and Don Hensman, FAIA. Named "Arroyo del Rey," their home has been designated a Historic Monument by the City of Pasadena. In the future it will become the Carol Soucek King and Richard King Center for Architecture, Arts and the Humanities/School of Architecture, University of Southern California. Dr. King graduated from Marlborough School, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Southern California, a Master of Fine Arts in Drama from Yale University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communications from USC. She also completed a summer course in English literature at Cambridge University, England.