title: The Spirit Never Dies
author: Russell, Lynne
description: STREGA - Magic: The Spirit Never DiesI was born on the white November day the Baptismal font cracked. Big, and right down the middle. Not a good sign in the Italian immigrant stronghold of Ocean County, New Jersey. Six weeks later, the second they wrapped up the christening my Godfather - running late for a meeting at an unspecified location - gently kissed my forehead and signaled to the bouncer waiting at the door to 'Git the friggin cah stahted.' And that's the good part. - AnnieThis is a rich novel from acclaimed storyteller Lynne Russell, set along the shores of modern day Massachusetts and in the Old Country of southern Italy, where  hereditary witchcraft is legendary. Strega means witch in Italian. Steeped in history but with a sense of humor, a tale of Reincarnation. Of the Joy we can pull out of suffering. Of Feminine Sovereignty and Gifts passed down through the ages. Angela Scotti (Annie) is a third-year medical student nearly achieving her dream of becoming a healer. But destiny, Destino, has other plans. Tragedies in her short life refuse to give her peace. And her fiancé, a successful NY lawyer, gives no credence to urgent whispers she hears in the night. They swirl around her warning that the clock is ticking, the time is near, but they never say what she should do. Even worse, at the hospital her mentor has become her enemy. She faces the fight alone. This beautifully written, cinematic account of the women who preceded Annie moves smoothly through old Italy. Today, a prisoner of an unsettled present, Annie flees to calming waves and fresh salt air. Without warning she runs headlong into a frightening Past that threatens to destroy her. Yet she finds Hope, Love, and herself in the most unlikely places. Will she recognize it in time? About the Author:  Lynne Russell was the first woman to anchor a regular network nightly newscast (33,000) at CNN. The New York Times called her a just-the-facts stalwart of CNN Headline News..also an anchor with the personality of a professional wrestler!. Washington Journalism Review: Best in the Business. Private eye, double black belt, former Deputy Sheriff, Lynne also writes the PJ Santini romantic crime series. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The first witch was as beautiful as you. Men loved her and women hated her. She was all women. At some point in her earliest years, every little girl in my family turns a bewildered cheek into the softness of her pillow as she's tucked in at night. She closes her wonder-filled eyes to unpuzzle this riddle, reassured by the gentle feminine voice beside her bed that it is the truth and that in time she will understand. Then this tender sleeping beauty is whispered to, as she sinks into slumber. Remember this: the power and the knowledge that rest in your breast have been handed down from the ancient goddesses, the Lifegivers. They rule over Harmony, Fertility, Balance. But men have sought to erase their influence from the world. They have  been violent [but] no match for our passion and the way Nature favors us. You can do a lot more with a broom than sweep, you know.  Reprinted from STREGA - Magic:The Spirit Never Dies by Lynne Russell. Copyright ©2021 Lynne Russell. All rights reserved. This excerpt or any parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without permission.