Elena Stone's provocative study of a diverse group of grassroots activists and artists gives
new dimensions to a question that has long been an underlying theme in feminist scholarship:
how do women find their voices? In this book that interweaves sociological analysis with
personal experience women's history and imagery from myth religion and the natural world
that question expands to encompass the very meaning of voice itself. Stone's interviews
primarily with African-American white working-class and Jewish women offer fresh and
creative perspectives on gender race class and culture. The resulting chapters explore the
many faces of silence and examine the meaning of voice in relation to living in a body
building community seeking justice creating art and affirming one's connection with the
earth. What emerges is a powerful new vision of women's development that blends notions of
personal and social transformation with a growing ecological and spiritual consciousness.
