Dreaming the Tree of Life

Lori A. Dunn is an ESL teacher and editor of the Toronto women’s
magazine Feminie.

Beginning with her own creation myth, Endicott recreates stories from
the Bible and women’s lives to make the pursuit of a life with God
more meaningful and relevant to women. Bringing forth female characters
from the Bible and images of female power from earlier religions, and
combining them with modern hardships, she has written some tantalizing
fables for the modern day.

“Dancing is Forever” brings Miriam, Seth’s sister, into the
forefront for an alternative reading of the time of Moses. “The Golden
Bracelet” tells of Eve’s first daughter and the problems she had to
overcome after her parents were thrown out of Eden. “The Seventh
Letter,” a cautionary tale about child abuse, focuses on Tamar,
David’s young sister. All of the stories tie the present to the past,
and allow women to find more connection than ever before to the Bible.

Endicott’s style is unfortunately awkward in sections, although for
the most part she allows the ideas to stand with little embellishment.
The stories are barely more than the outlines of their narratives, but
in many ways that is all that is needed, as they can be fleshed out by
each reader either to fit her own experience or create the myths of a
larger discussion group.