Crack at dusk, crook of dawn

By Priscilla Cogan

Subjects: Lakota Indians, Fiction, Shamans, Indians of North America

Description: Crack at Dusk: Crook of Dawn, the third novel in The Winona Trilogy, continues to explore the deep divide between the modern psychological view of life and the traditional Lakota (Sioux) spiritual perspective, following the same characters: Dr. Meggie O'Connor, the psychologist and Hawk, the Lakota medicine teacher. In Crack at Dusk: Crook of Dawn, the two lovers marry but soon find their relationship sorely tested by the addition of an emotionally disturbed boy, Winona's grandson, who has been violently exposed to the forces of evil. Hawk argues that the boy's soul has been stolen, thus requiring special ceremonies. Meggie is adamant that the boy is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and needs hospitalization. Together the two of them must find - through love, ritual, and story - the way into the boy's heart to bring him back home. An affirmative, healing story, Crack at Dusk: Crook of Dawn provides an uncompromising view of the contaminating nature of evil and the path back to wholeness.