The Voodoo Breast
The Voodoo Breast - A Novel Of Healing
What is the meaning of life and the nature of fate?
After breast cancer, Allie is drawn to post-Katrina New Orleans for restorative surgery. Soon, curious events and synchronicities begin to occur - ghostly music, disembodied whistling, and a realistic dream where she meets a mysterious man who promises her a future journey, if she dares. Is Allie's French Quarter hotel room a gateway to the spiritual dimension - where all questions are answered? Her husband, Kevin, thinks her experiences are a delusion. The woman in the voodoo shop is convinced they are real. Allie and Kevin, find their love and faith tested, as they struggle in a relationship strained by time, illness, and diverging views of reality.
Reviews
"SUPERB! A written tapestry that is so well crafted that it literally paints in the mind of the reader. Striking visual imagery, sexual chemistry, music, mystery, and pounding emotion set the story in motion, where loss to cancer begins a restorative transformation of Allie's body and the very essence of her entire life."
-Frank DellaCroce, MD, FACS, Center for Restorative Breast Surgery, New Orleans.
Wallinga's imaginative debut . . . a story not only of identity and femininity, but of magic . . . The Big Easy stars in this affecting novel about a couple's unusual route to redemption."
-Kirkus Reviews NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2014
"Populated by strikingly real characters . . . Wallinga has penned a fascinating story of healing and recovery in The Voodoo Breast . . . New Orleans becomes a character in itself as a couple deals with the wounds, both psychological and physical, left by a battle with cancer . . . Long-buried tensions surface between the couple as their marriage heads toward the rocks . . . the third person narrative switches smoothly from Allie to Kevin, allowing for glimpses into the thoughts of both. Allie's reconstruction surgery is well paralleled with the reconstruction of New Orleans after Katrina . . . Wallinga has a talent for evoking just the right emotions with her word choice . . . With its supernatural twist, The Voodoo Breast is a welcome and unique addition to the oeuvre of cancer fiction."
-Foreword Reviews FEATURED AS ONE OF FIVE DEBUT NOVELS IN FOREWORD REVIEWS, SUMMER 2014.
What Readers are saying
"I am so impressed with this piece of literary art. Seriously, I started reading when I was already tired on Saturday night, and stayed up until 1 AM, which I never do. I loved it! It really speaks to the reality of marriage and life." -C.H.
"I LOVED it! I'm still shedding tears . . . I finished The Voodoo Breast a week ago. I loved it from the beginning to the very last page! You will not be disappointed." -P.E.
"I enjoyed the book from cover to cover. I couldn't put it down!" -M.F.
"If you love Sarah Addison Allen's books, you will love Voodoo Breast. It has everything a good read should...magic, mystery, sex and complex characters that are transformed by their experiences in New Orleans . . . Having visited New Orleans twice, Voodoo Breast swept me back there with vivid, descriptive writing that brought back memories of music, food, and the other-worldly feel of its nights. Brava, Eve Wallinga! I am looking forward to your next book." -S.F.
"There was so much in this book I could relate to. I also went to the same hospital in New Orleans for my mastectomy and reconstruction and enjoyed exploring the city . . . Wallinga really captures the atmosphere of the place and the story sweeps you along through dreams and magic while not shying away from real relationship issues. It was a fun read and I recommend it." -E.M.
"I finished it in a day. Excellent read, Eve Wallinga. You captured the spirit of NOLA." -C.H.
"I loved it and I honestly hated to get to the end." -L.C.
About the Author
Eve Christensen Wallinga was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. She lives and writes in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with her husband, Gary, and very small dog, Harald. She has two grown children - a daughter and a son. She and her husband are collaborative visual artists and together wrote the regional best-seller, Waterfalls of Minnesota's North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers, and Romantics.
For her novel, The Voodoo Breast, Eve's attention has turned to Southern landscapes - or more particularly, the New Orleans cityscape. In 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was during her travels to New Orleans for breast reconstruction that she was inspired to write this story. As with any novel, some parts are based on truth and some are fiction. In The Voodoo Breast, the reader would be surprised which are which . . .
Eve holds master's degrees in clinical psychology and business administration. She is a citizen activist concerned with environmental issues, especially the preservation of natural areas. She is also an advocate for women's health, specifically breast cancer. She helped start the Breastoration Foundation, based in New Orleans, to educate women about the many reconstructive options available today and also to aid women in financially challenging circumstances who cannot afford the associated costs for breast reconstruction. The Breastoration Foundation operates under the umbrella of The Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans. Read Eve's Breastoration Foundation blog.
From The Voodoo Breast
