Under the Surface (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781721816941)

Joan North has lived on an ashram in California and Massachusetts and a Zen center in Hawaii for eighteen years. Her short stories have appeared in the Florida Writers Association anthologies and the Royal Palms Literary Awards Competitions as finalists and first place. Watching Clouds Breathe (2008)-Full page black-and-white photographs and brief thoughts on love, God, Zen Buddhism and everyday life. Light, Shadow & Reflection (2010)-Full page black-and-white photographs and messages from God that answer questions about who we are and why we're here. Here and There: Traveling Outside Comfort Zones (2013)-Stories and photographs of challenging and fulfilling adventures and insights while exploring Mediterranean and Asian countries. Let Me Hold You (2017)-Full page black-and-white photographs and brief conversations with God exploring the personal and universal feeling of unworthiness and the fear of loving, as well as the grace of forgiveness. Novellas Secondary Colors (2014)-Sarah, a woman of muted, secondary colors, lives in a world of alternative lifestyles as she holds on and lets go of people, expectations and fears. Fragments of Grace (2015)-Grace Johnson deals with life, death and a long-submerged secret. After a concussion, her memories return one by one, each revealing part of the slippery slope beneath her illusion of sanity. Bodies and Souls (2017)-Six interweaving stories take on subjects ranging from aging and guilt to life after death and the vulnerability of loving.