In The Weight of Silence, freelance writer, graphic designer, mother, author, and self-proclaimed world vagabond and dog-lover Shelley Seale takes readers along on an emotional journey of India’s orphanages and slums.
Learn about the issues facing children around the globe by exploring the slums of India. Orphanages
(and the occasional loving neighborhood home) are crammed full of hungry children from poor and destitute families. Lack of education, understanding, facilities and staff are the chains that
weigh down the wings of these young dreamers, and they have a short-odds chance of repeating the cycle played out by their family, friends and neighbors. Yet this book is filled with hope. Huge hearts and individuals from around the globe are standing up to create a wave of conscious steps toward a better planet.
I first heard of Shelley when she queried me to be on my radio show,
Conscious Discussions. I have to say that I just about drooled while waiting for her book to arrive. As expected, I loved it.
This is a highly entertaining book. My lips were trembling and eyes began watering by page 11; by page 41, I had belted out laughter several times causing my husband to say “What?” with growing frustration.
The Weight of Silence was edited by Barbara Hautanen and designed by Nola Lee Kelsey,
managing editor for Dog’s Eye View Media. This publisher specializes in books that encourage conscious living. The colorful, light-hearted cover design
is based on a photograph taken by Craig A. Lakey. The closing pages contain numerous black-and-white photographs of the author’s travels and three pages of resources, along with contact information. Readers
are welcomed to each new chapter with quotes from Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. among other amazing
people who have graced this planet. The only negative aspect that I could find about this book is the lack of information on whether the publisher has chosen any of the numerous green innovations in the publishing industry (such as percentage of recycled content, using sustainable harvested products, eco-certified, recycling in house, use of vegetable inks, support of environmental organizations or programs in the industry, etc.).
Author Shelley Seale has a degree in writing and cultural psychology and has been a
sustainable travel columnist for the Examiner and other publications. She has a wonderful blog at
weightofsilence.wordpress.com.