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New releases from Hawaii authors
Reviewed by Burl Burlingame
bburlinggame@starbulletin.comMiracle in Maui by Paul Pearsall (Inner Ocean, $17.95) Maui clinical "psychoneuroimmunologist" Pearsall, stricken with a particularly virulent form of bone cancer, should be dead, at least for a decade, by now. Instead, he embraced the spiritual side of Hawaiian life and a "miracle" occurred -- he went into remission.
This book documents his spiritual journey back to wellness through the notion that Hawaiians are far more tuned into health and healing than the rest of the world, but there's no denying something special occurred with Pearsall. It was originally published as "Making Miracles" in 1991, and Maui publisher Inner Oceans has brought it back into print with a handsome update and a thoughtful forward by kumu hula Kawikapuokalani Hewett.
The Kahuna Killer by Juanita Sheridan (Rue Morgue, $14) Another delightful reprint, this one first published in 1951 and featuring Lily Wu, possibly the first female Chinese-American private eye. Sheridan's heroine, operating in post-war Hawaii, returns home to discover foul doings afoot in her country town, including dead hula dancers, a mysterious kahuna and fresh blood on stone altars.
Sheridan actually lived in Hawaii prior to the war and her depiction of the islands smells right, and the book shows sensitivity to Hawaiians losing their culture. At one point, the Lily Wu books were optioned by Hollywood for a TV series; maybe it's time to revisit that idea.
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