In the Heart of Life: A Memoir
In 1993, Eldon’s son, Dan, a Reuters photographer, was killed along with three fellow journalists by a mob in Somalia. Reeling from his death, Eldon published a best-selling collection of his richly illustrated journals, The Journey Is the Destination (1997), established the Creative Visions Foundation, and continues to do great things with her daughter and ex-husband to celebrate Dan’s life and work. Now, in this staggeringly intimate memoir, Eldon lays bare not only her shock and grief over the devastating circumstances of her son’s death but also the details of her failed marriage, her regretted indiscretions, and her struggle to find her own true purpose beyond wife-and-motherhood. Eldon is a very spiritual person and recounts some surprising experiences with channeling, spirit guides, and mediums. She acknowledges skepticism of these matters, however, and describes her encounters with the same straightforwardness with which she reveals ill-fated matters of the heart. Fans of Dan’s work will appreciate her unvarnished emotions and honesty, and book clubs will find much to discuss. --Colleen Mondor