But This Is Different, A Novel

by Mary Walker Baron

It's the dawn of a new year, 1978.On a tiny, uncharted island in the South Pacific, residents are celebrating. Leading the ceremony is a woman known as "Mere." In the language of the island that means "Star of the Sea." Forty years ago, Mere came to their island from the sea and became their star.Though she isn't a native, she works beside the islanders each day, helping women in childbirth and providing comfort to the dying. She shields children from storms and teaches them how to build paper airplanes that actually fly. She speaks the language of the island like a native.Outside the island, the existence of Mere is a closely guarded secret. Forty years ago, islanders entered into a solemn pact, to keep her presence hidden from the rest of the world. It's a promise they have kept.But all that changes on the first day of 1978. In the crate full of gifts that always arrives with the New Year, on board a very unusual boat, is a letter to Mere from the woman known to the islanders as "Pilapan", or "Mother Chief".It is a letter that changes everything, that plunges Mere into a voyage of discovery. "All of my professional life I have insisted that death is a natural part of life..." the letter says. "But this is different. I am dying."And indeed, from that point on, everything changes - for Mere and for readers who come along on this exploration of commitments and promises.It's a world that's familiar and yet dramatically different. It will move you and it might even change you in the process."But This Is Different" embodies the despair we must be willing to feel if we are to truly love, and gives us hope that we can integrate not only our separate islands but our separate selves. Mary Walker Baron has crafted an eco-philosophical, eco-psychological and eco-spiritual masterpiece of profound significance and joy. - Jackie Lanum PhD. - Professor, Santa Monica College, International Community of Eco-psychologists, Joanna Macy facilitator.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Deborah Dubé · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original and thoughtful novel with a highly likeable main character.