Echoes of Balefire (Hardcover)

The only survivor of a terrible accident, a four year old girl wakes up to a life in an orphanage in Minnesota. Unable to speak English, Reidun remembers nothing of her past life, except her mother's voice and warm lap. No one can tell her about her parents or where they came from, but she keeps fantasizing that some day she will unlock those secrets. terrible fears and nightmares, making her scream in the night and wake the other children. As she grows, Reidun discovers ways to vitiate her fears and draws and scribbles constantly, trying to put her feelings on paper, to chase away the monsters. When she learns to read, she visits the local library and is taken under the wing of a spinster librarian, who eventually is able to adopt her. Constantly groping for answers about her parents, she reads and writes about Norway, which she believes to be her country of origin. the road is open for her to uncover the mystery of her heritage. With no ties to hold her, she leaves the United States and enters a magical Norwegian world of natural beauty, wonders and hardships. Convinced that her parents were rural people who came from the mountains, she joins a group of mountain-climbers, an adventure that ends in disaster on St. Hans Night when she is spooked by the traditional bonfire and raped by one of the climbers. To help her recover, the tourleader sends her higher into the mountains to an old friend, who takes her along on lengthy treks and shows her the breathtaking beauty of the mountains. Reidun learns why her parents fled their country, finds her grandmother in the city of Bergen, solves a murder mystery and clears her father's name. Her efforts allow her to claim her father's land and restore the timber-hut where she lived as a tot with her parents. tour-leader, Asbjorn, who helped her during her early days in Norway. Unbeknownst to her, he loves her also, but wants to give her time to find her way. He leaves the mountain life to return to his environmental studies, graduates and takes a job working outdoors, pursuing his passion for animals. like her mother, becomes pregnant. She hides it from her grandmother and struggles to balance her life. Her creativity, strong will and perseverance carry her till the end. While artfully unveiling the layers of her past, Reidun's story revels in Norway's rich folklore, presents proudly its art, music and literature and depicts in colorful prose the beauty of the landscape.