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On its surface, A Song for Hāna & the Spirit of Leho‘ula is a love story
that unfolds across the majesty of the Hāna coast, a sacred place threatened by development. The author, lost
and distracted, becomes engaged with figures of ancient Hawai‘i, is transformed by the experience, and comes
to the spirit of the place and of himself in the hands of Leho‘ula, heroine of old Hawai‘i.
Leho‘ula is also a beach on Maui, and this is a hint at the multi-layered aspect of the book. Like the ocean
that pervades the story, this is a tale of shifting surfaces and surprising depths. In the narrator’s mind, Leho‘ula
– whether beach or personage –stands for the present moment, which is what he seeks to discover in his spiritual journey
across the landscape. And it is this present moment, as well as the land itself, that seems threatened by "developers".
It is the resolution of the conflict brought upon by this threat which is the deeper subject of this book.
However you approach A Song for Hana, it is a feast for the senses. Open to any page and you will
find full-color photographs of the landscape, and scans of local verdure to guide you along the narrator’s journey. Not only
are the images stunning, but the aromas of ocean and air, the touch of the earth and sand, the sounds of the birds, the wind,
and the ocean come through the prose nd poetry of every page. They intermingle with the emotions of the narrator, much as the
text intermingles with the images, challenging our senses and our sense of what is inside of ourselves and what is outside.
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George Kinder is a Harvard educated poet, spiritual teacher, life planner, and photographer. Over many years,
he studied digital photography with numerous master photographers including John Paul Caponigro and Katrin Eisman. His environmental
sculptures and ink washes have been shown at Harvard. His two previous books, Seven Stages of Money Maturity and Lighting the Torch
are currently in print internationally and he is frequently named as among the most influential people in the financial services
industry. |
