A few years ago, I was invited to contribute a short story to the Hawaiian anthology, Don’t Look Back: Hawaiian Myths Made New (Watermark Publishing). It was an honor to have my work alongside some of Hawai‘i’s best writers including Maxine Hong Kingston, W.S. Merwin, Victoria Kneubuhl, Alan Brennert, and the late Ian MacMillan as we presented our favorite myths and legends in contemporary settings.
“Gee’s interpretation of Pele is pure aces.” — Hawaii Book Blog
You can also read it as a stand-alone title, along with a bonus interview and short excerpt from Sweet Life, my novel written as Mia King. Pele in Therapy is available in print, digital and audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by the talented Carin Gilfry, a mezzo soprano whose voice graces several of my other titles as well.
Pele in Therapy by Darien Gee
INSPIRED BY THE LEGEND OF PELE’S EXILE
There are variations to the story of how Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, came to Hawai‘i, but a common one holds that she was exiled from Tahiti by her parents, who were concerned about Pele’s ongoing battles with her older sister, the water goddess Namaka o Kaha‘i, whose husband Pele had seduced. Contemporary folklore talks of Pele’s ability to change her form, and sightings of Pele as a beautiful young woman, an old hag, or a white dog abound, usually before a lava flow and as a test of people’s goodness and values.
“Pele in Therapy” is a loose translation of Pele’s exile to Hawai‘i and her own awakening that occurs as a result. I entwined several Pele myths, both classical and contemporary, to create a modern view of the goddess. While I am loath to say that any deity would be in need of therapy, it is not inconceivable that the opportunity to “vent” might be welcome, especially when you consider that this particular goddess reigns over an active volcano.
>> Read an excerpt here.
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