Thursday,
November 20, 2003
7:41AM EST
CHAPTER
TWO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing of women's
power
By LYNETTE BLAIR
MITCHELL, Correspondent
|
KATE
GREEN smiles
while signing
copies of
her new novel,
'The Hundredth
Woman,'
at Dancing
Moon Books
& Gifts
in Raleigh.
Staff Photo
by John L.
White
|
DURHAM
-- Kate Green put
everything on the
line to publish
a book that churned
in the pit of her
belly for eight
years. She used
all of her retirement
savings, sold off
personal property
and became somewhat
of a recluse to
write "The
Hundredth Woman,"
a 374-page novel
released this month.
Green primarily
wrote the novel
at home, but as
she worked on the
final drafts she
spent countless
hours at Elmo's
Diner on Ninth Street,
letting bits and
pieces of local
flavor filter into
the book.
"The Hundredth
Woman" is about
three North Carolina
women whose lives
intertwine as they
each claw through
pain and adversity
to find purpose
for their lives.
As they find their
true paths, the
women recognize
their potential
to bring change,
compassion and healing
to the world.
For
Green, 56, this
debut novel is a
culmination of the
35 years she spent
training and working
as a therapist and
life coach. She
has helped people
sort through the
clutter in their
lives to find meaning
and fulfillment.
Green
has taken a particular
interest in empowering
women. She believes
women can guide
all of humanity
to peace and toward
a society where
ills, such as poverty
and homelessness,
cease to exist.
"The
reason why women
are not exerting
more of an influence
on the world is
because we are putting
too many people
first and not being
true to what's in
our hearts,"
Green said. "But
as we are true to
ourselves, we start
creating the kind
of conditions we
need for the world
to change. I feel
that the world can't
change unless it
starts feeling whole,
one person at a
time."
Green
got a great deal
of her training
living among indigenous
people in India
and South America.
She has also spent
a great deal of
time with Native
American tribes.
She says people
who are considered
primitive taught
her life's greatest
lesson: That what
really matters comes
from within.
Here
Green talks more
about her own odyssey
to peace and fulfillment
and her new book:
Q.
Will there be a
sequel to "The
Hundredth Woman?"
I've
got several sequels
going in my mind.
But the main sequel
will be my Web site.
My dream would be
for a community
to develop around
the book, preferably
an international
community.
Q.
Have you, like the
characters in your
book, found your
ultimate purpose
or are you still
searching, evolving?
I've
absolutely found
it and it's to do
the coaching work
that I do and to
have written this
book. And it's to
work on a Web site
to build an international
community of women
supporting each
other in living
their dreams.
Q.
Why did you call
your book "The
Hundredth Woman?"
It's
a catch-all phrase
for a phenomenon
that occurs when
a small number of
a species makes
a leap or a change,
the rest of the
species follows.
But while "The
Hundredth Woman"
is a deep book,
it doesn't have
to be. It's a page-turning
adventure. It's
a feel good book.
Q.
Why do you think
people will relate
to the characters
in your book?
I
think that we are
in the middle of
an extraordinary
shift in human consciousness.
It's the first time
in history that
individuals, especially
in America where
we are more privileged,
want to get straight
with our souls.
We're all going
after that thing
that's not religious,
a kind of a spirituality
that's at the base
of all the religions
-- purpose, meaning,
and joy.
Q.
Why did Elmo's turn
out to be the perfect
spot for you to
do revisions for
your book?
Writing
is such a solitary
process. When it
came to doing the
draft I went to
Elmo's because it
was a way to be
around people without
interacting with
people.
Correspondent Lynette
Blair Mitchell can
be reached at lynette@nc.rr.com.
"The Hundredth
Woman" is on
sale at The Regulator
Bookshop in Durham
and Dancing Moon
Books and Gifts
in Raleigh and on
Amazon.com. Kate
Green can be reached
at 403-7685 or www.hundredthwoman.com.
Green will have
a book signing from
4 to 6 p.m. Dec.
2 at Elmo's Diner
in Durham.
