Borderland

This is a novel about the love between a white man and an Indian woman. It takes place in that borderland between the United States and Mexico, between one culture and another, between one level of consciousness and the next. J.P. is a young American technologist in Mexico in search of water on the Abulafia ranch. As he wanders through the mountains he come... more »s across Tsari standing on a hillside apparently mesmerizing a flock of birds -- one of the strange powers she has acquired in her training as a curandera, a healer, a seer, On that day he returns with her to her village, and in the months that follow he becomes the spokesman for the owner of the ranch that is trying to persuade the Indians to come down from their ancient and harsh way of living. As the feeling between Tsari and J.P.grows and they reach out to one another, exploring the beliefs and the hidden traditions of their differing cultures and the deeper levels of communications possible when the heart begins to open. Tsari is torn between her love for J.P. and her allegiance to her people and her work. Finally, and most powerfully, there is an extraordinary fusing of these themes at the moment when J.P. has to use all his inner knowledge and strength to aid Tsari in giving birth, and it becomes clear that it is only together that the two of them will have the power to heal and bring peace to those in need.