Ahn’s Awakening
A Journal for Pre-Teen Girls
by
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Chapter Four Ahn was surprised to find her family gone. She came from the quiet place ready to help her grandmother gather their robes. All else could be returned to the forest. But these things had been done. Leaves were scattered back over their fire pit. There was no sign of Grandmother, the two uncles, or where they had stayed for these several months. Ahn felt strange. Each day in her life that she could remember was different than the day before. She knew that change was to be expected. It kept her mind sharp as they moved from place to place. Home did not mean a certain spot; her whole world was her home. Sometimes their shelter was a cave; sometimes pine trees provided them a soft bed of needles. But home had always meant the same people. She reached for the smooth rock and pulled it loose. She wanted to stay here. Her thoughts surprised her. This was a new feeling. She had followed Grandmother and the uncles without ever thinking before. But now she had a stake in where she was. She would have to pay attention to where she was and where she would go. Being mindful of her surroundings came as a good feeling. She knew she would come back here even without the others. She would remember. The white trees now became her landmarks. Grandmother called them sycamores and sometimes boiled their bark to rub on their skin. Instinctively, she knew these trees followed the river just as she must to find her family. On hot sun-filled days, Ahn walked the river’s cool center. On rainy, stormy days, she found the largest white trees, hollowed out by age and used them as her place of rest. The river’s rise sometimes sent her higher up into the giant trees’ arms. Ahn took side trips to gather and eat berries or to dig for tubers. But in the corner of her vision were always the large white river trees. The night sky had gone around from a new moon to a full face before Ahn caught up with the others. The river was now wider and swifter. One had to stay on the bank now. She had seen the smoke two days before she saw them. There was no sign of the uncles, but Grandmother was cooking meat over the fire. Ahn’s hunger made her steps go faster. Ahn was curious as to why they had left her. Fear was unknown to her; acceptance was more familiar. Grandmother smiled a welcome as though she was confident Ahn would find them. In fact, Grandmother and the uncles had only left Ahn because they were certain that she was now old enough to find her own way. Suddenly, the uncles returned with turkey eggs. They would make Ahn’s return a celebration. Ahn was feeling warm inside because she was with her family. She glowed with the delight of knowing they recognized she was becoming a woman. The smooth rock from her journey was still hers. She would remember how to return to her quiet place.
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About the Book
Ahn’s Awakening is a fictional account of a prehistoric girl in North America. Ahn, her grandmother, and two uncles are walking through the forest when Ahn begins to notice the monumental changes in her physical body and in her soul that come with a girl’s first menstrual period. Pre-teen girls will find blank lines on the left-hand side of the pages where they can journal their response to the fictional account of a life lived in close harmony with our natural world. Adult mentors and mothers will appreciate the guidance found at the end of the story. These questions, suggestions, and prompts to explore their own first menstrual stories will inspire them to turn “the talk” into an ongoing conversation. Ahn’s Awakening ends with a ritual that may help adult mentors and mothers see the sacred nature of our bodies’ natural functions and how they interconnect with our souls’ journeys.
About the Author
Susan Jo’s roles as daughter, wife, and mother among her other life relationships prepared her to receive the gift of the story that became Ahn’s Awakening. She first published this book as Your Story, Ahn’s Story, and Our Stories in 2007. The story came to her as she daydreamed about what a girl’s nomadic life in the forest might have been like thousands of years ago. Susan Jo is publishing this second edition with the help of Susan Michelle, a former psychologist who has taught human sexuality courses. This version of Ahn’s Awakening has a more fluid storyline and has even more materials and resources for mothers or mentors who are guiding pre-teen girls. The two Susans have a strong desire for this book to reach families before their beloved daughters and/or mentees experience their menarche (first menstrual period). Amazed that a fictional account of menarche is a rarity, Susan Jo and Susan Michelle are eager to get this book to mentors, mothers, and their beloved pre-teen girls. Both women believe that additional fictional accounts of menarche would augment the many nonfiction books that teach girls the biological details of this monumental passage. The fact that menarche is often ignored in our current cultural stories is tragic. Susan Jo loves nature and feels compelled to walk outdoors in wooded areas as often as possible. At this point, her story is unique because her main character lives in total connection with the Earth as she explores her experience of her menarche. Susan Jo is a retired educator and a former bed-and-breakfast owner. She added to her resumé in 2014 by winning the Democratic primary as a candidate for U.S. Congress in Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District. Her love of our natural environment also guided her candidacy.