I was maybe 19 years old when I first saw this book. A group of us had decided to spend the night out at the lake. I was feeling out of place and insecure that night, sitting alone on the dock. My friend Lara came up to me, she was older than me, was from the same area but had been out traveling around , being her beautiful gypsy self. She sat down next to me and opened up her bag. She took out this book and a special pouch. The pouch had a stone in it, smokey quartz, beautiful and dark in the moonlight. She read me a passage from this book, her voice soft and tender in the night. And although we lost touch, I have never forgotten her. She showed me kindness and compassion and reminded me that we are all children of the Goddess, united in Love.