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Water
Winner of the 2021 Independent Publishers Gold Medal for Visionary Fiction!
Pearl Swinton is drowning in a dark night of the soul. In the depths, she hears a cry to purpose, but to what?
A former journalist who has spent years trying to outrun her psychic visions, Pearl meets a mentor in an urban mystic named Rayne, who introduces her to the concept of the Divine Feminine and sets her afloat on the turbulent waters of self-acceptance. Pearl finds herself navigating Seattle’s metaphysical scene, studying tarot, shamanism, and past-life regression. As a journalist, she gave voice to the voiceless, and in the transformative journey she’s now on, she is being asked to find her own voice.
Accepting her new mystical calling finds her at the helm of a rickety folding table in the back of a bookstore reading tarot for the public. Daily she dives deep into the psyches of many, finding inside each person a lushness and a rootlessness, a poetry and a thirst. Still Pearl resists this life. Still she runs away.
It will take a national tragedy to break through the walls of her resistance and show Pearl how desperately the world needs her to step into her power, to own the divinity of the feminine voice.
Pearl Swinton is drowning in a dark night of the soul. In the depths, she hears a cry to purpose, but to what?
A former journalist who has spent years trying to outrun her psychic visions, Pearl meets a mentor in an urban mystic named Rayne, who introduces her to the concept of the Divine Feminine and sets her afloat on the turbulent waters of self-acceptance. Pearl finds herself navigating Seattle’s metaphysical scene, studying tarot, shamanism, and past-life regression. As a journalist, she gave voice to the voiceless, and in the transformative journey she’s now on, she is being asked to find her own voice.
Accepting her new mystical calling finds her at the helm of a rickety folding table in the back of a bookstore reading tarot for the public. Daily she dives deep into the psyches of many, finding inside each person a lushness and a rootlessness, a poetry and a thirst. Still Pearl resists this life. Still she runs away.
It will take a national tragedy to break through the walls of her resistance and show Pearl how desperately the world needs her to step into her power, to own the divinity of the feminine voice.
414 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 12, 2020
29 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Allen
5 books33 followersCaroline Allen worked in newsrooms in Tokyo, London, and Seattle, and as a travel writer through Asia. She is now a novelist and visual artist who lives in Oregon. She is the founder of Art of Storytelling, a coaching service for writers.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 28, 2020
I've been enjoying Caroline Allen's Elements series, but you don't need to read the other books to experience Water. And it is an experience, as she takes you through Pearl's journey in discovering and accepting - after a lot of resistance - her purpose in this life. Pearl's struggles and adventures resonated with me, and will with a lot of people. We may not be psychic like Pearl, but we are all on a journey to discovering ourselves and what we bring to this world, and how to share it with others. Just writing this book is helping to fulfill Caroline's purpose, as following along with Pearl's journey can awaken, or at least nudge, the reader to their own gifts and what they may be resisting. And the writing is so well done, it is a pleasure to read the story. Can't wait to read the next one!
October 7, 2020
For those of us who seek the truth in ourselves, Pearl is an intriguing guide.
Caroline Allen's latest book, "Water" picks up Pearl Swinton's journey toward enlightenment as she moves back to the States from a decade abroad. Pearl's feelings of displacement, her quest for a place to belong, for people and a 'mission' to connect to drive her forward with a sense of urgency that made it hard for me to put down the book, once I started reading it.
Allen has a way of looking at and describing the world, through Pearl's eyes, that is both lyrical and mystical and she captures 'emotion' , 'movement' , and 'place' in evocative ways.
Pearl is prone to visions and anxiety. Allen describes these states with melodic authority. "I felt a panic attack threatening like a storm. Looking back, I know my body was absorbing the chaos, my cells becoming the honking and sounds of construction, the water of my body being polluted with exhaust."
I also loved this description of Pearl's movement through space. "I moved forward. My body painted a colorful mosaic behind me. My shoulder swiped a line of blue, my hips a patch of orange. My fingers created line and form like colored pencils. When I stepped forward,azure tiles came up to meet my feet. In the dream, there was this white nothingness in front of me, but when I looked behind me, the colors were spectacular. My movement created a path of beauty."
Having lived in Seattle, one of the main settings of this book, I was drawn to Allen's descriptions of this place. "Elliott Bay smells like exhaust, oil, and fish entrails. ..The white caps of the hazy Olympic Mountains march on the horizon. Elliott Bay has depth and breadth—a waterway whose stories go back millennia. The tugboats move like old men, and the ferries like ancient hotels, plying back and forth. Some days it’s so dark, you can’t tell the above from the below. Other days, the sun throws thousands of stars across the water’s surface and into my eyes."
Pearl's task, as expressed by her neighbor Gem, is similar to our own task in today's world...“To find out who you really are. Isn’t that the whole point of the life you’ve led? To question everything and come up with your own life and not some role that society thrusts upon you? It all starts with not fitting in, right? Maybe it’s about finding home in here.” She touches my heart."
If you are at all curious about the many layers of reality we walk through every day, Pearl will touch your heart, too.
For me, Pearl is an intriguing guide, especially during these times when nothing is as it was before and we hold the possibility of creating a new world if only we are brave enough to look at how we, as individuals, contribute to a corrupt system. Like Pearl, we have to question if we are up to the task, then force ourselves to rise to the occasion.
This book is the fourth in Allen's "Elemental Journey Series".
Caroline Allen's latest book, "Water" picks up Pearl Swinton's journey toward enlightenment as she moves back to the States from a decade abroad. Pearl's feelings of displacement, her quest for a place to belong, for people and a 'mission' to connect to drive her forward with a sense of urgency that made it hard for me to put down the book, once I started reading it.
Allen has a way of looking at and describing the world, through Pearl's eyes, that is both lyrical and mystical and she captures 'emotion' , 'movement' , and 'place' in evocative ways.
Pearl is prone to visions and anxiety. Allen describes these states with melodic authority. "I felt a panic attack threatening like a storm. Looking back, I know my body was absorbing the chaos, my cells becoming the honking and sounds of construction, the water of my body being polluted with exhaust."
I also loved this description of Pearl's movement through space. "I moved forward. My body painted a colorful mosaic behind me. My shoulder swiped a line of blue, my hips a patch of orange. My fingers created line and form like colored pencils. When I stepped forward,azure tiles came up to meet my feet. In the dream, there was this white nothingness in front of me, but when I looked behind me, the colors were spectacular. My movement created a path of beauty."
Having lived in Seattle, one of the main settings of this book, I was drawn to Allen's descriptions of this place. "Elliott Bay smells like exhaust, oil, and fish entrails. ..The white caps of the hazy Olympic Mountains march on the horizon. Elliott Bay has depth and breadth—a waterway whose stories go back millennia. The tugboats move like old men, and the ferries like ancient hotels, plying back and forth. Some days it’s so dark, you can’t tell the above from the below. Other days, the sun throws thousands of stars across the water’s surface and into my eyes."
Pearl's task, as expressed by her neighbor Gem, is similar to our own task in today's world...“To find out who you really are. Isn’t that the whole point of the life you’ve led? To question everything and come up with your own life and not some role that society thrusts upon you? It all starts with not fitting in, right? Maybe it’s about finding home in here.” She touches my heart."
If you are at all curious about the many layers of reality we walk through every day, Pearl will touch your heart, too.
For me, Pearl is an intriguing guide, especially during these times when nothing is as it was before and we hold the possibility of creating a new world if only we are brave enough to look at how we, as individuals, contribute to a corrupt system. Like Pearl, we have to question if we are up to the task, then force ourselves to rise to the occasion.
This book is the fourth in Allen's "Elemental Journey Series".
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October 30, 2020This book is about a woman’s journey to discover Her soul’s purpose. It doesn’t come easy, there are black dogs and visions and loneliness and pain but there are also searingly beautiful moments of enlightenment.
After many journeys in her life to places far from her home; to Japan, to southeast Asia and India, to London, always searching to fit in, to be normal, she begins to realize that it is not where you are but to understand to the very depths of who you are.
Although cynical at first, she is open to exploring metaphysical techniques and practices such as Tarot and Reiki. She has learned to “let the monsters out of the cage” to allow her to write her stories and she has struggled and worked hard to develop her artistic self.
This woman has rewritten her story and re-created herself as a full-fledged artist. What an incredible Journey!
After many journeys in her life to places far from her home; to Japan, to southeast Asia and India, to London, always searching to fit in, to be normal, she begins to realize that it is not where you are but to understand to the very depths of who you are.
Although cynical at first, she is open to exploring metaphysical techniques and practices such as Tarot and Reiki. She has learned to “let the monsters out of the cage” to allow her to write her stories and she has struggled and worked hard to develop her artistic self.
This woman has rewritten her story and re-created herself as a full-fledged artist. What an incredible Journey!
October 30, 2020
I LOVE this book! The story is captivating and speaks directly to the heart. Caroline shares a beautiful descriptive narrative filled with un-deniable truths. She shows how even though one might not "fit in", there is deep purpose and belonging. This is pure medicine for the Soul and just what the world needs right now. thank you for writing this book. I highly recommend it! Mahada Thomas.
October 22, 2020
Caroline does it again
Each time I read her new novel, I'm amazed by this special world Caroline is a part of. Us who are not a part of this mystical world, do not realize that these people are gifts from God sent to heal the world, even sometimes to the detriment of their own existence and health of both mind and body. I am in awe that she allows the reader into her world. I know this is fictional but I see, and feel, Caroline in Pearl. Thank you once again for an amazing journey. I can't wait for number five, but at the same time I am sad knowing I will be saying good bye to Pearl. I am so proud to know Caroline personally and can't wait to discuss Water with her. Well done beautiful lady.
Each time I read her new novel, I'm amazed by this special world Caroline is a part of. Us who are not a part of this mystical world, do not realize that these people are gifts from God sent to heal the world, even sometimes to the detriment of their own existence and health of both mind and body. I am in awe that she allows the reader into her world. I know this is fictional but I see, and feel, Caroline in Pearl. Thank you once again for an amazing journey. I can't wait for number five, but at the same time I am sad knowing I will be saying good bye to Pearl. I am so proud to know Caroline personally and can't wait to discuss Water with her. Well done beautiful lady.
October 19, 2020
This book had me from page one. Every moment in Pearl's world has been a gift. Caroline Allen's writing grabs you by the soul and reminds you what is truly possible within the human experience.
October 18, 2020
This book speaks to the challenging times we live in. It addresses reclaiming the Divine Feminine as a force for positive change amidst the failing systems of our patriarchal society. It chronicles the courage and perseverance required to reclaim one’s voice in the cacophony of our collective consciousness.
Pearl Swinton, now in her early thirties, has struggled her whole life with her metaphysical gifts, which may seem more a curse than a blessing. Born into an abusive and generally dysfunctional family she shut down her insights, became “invisible” and began a life-long search for a sense of belonging…in other words…home. After traveling the globe, Pearl has now settled in Seattle, struggling to support herself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Her heroine’s journey unfolds as a soul-inspired healing journey to reclaim all the lost parts of herself sacrificed since childhood. As she struggles with crippling depression and isolation, she begins to realize that all her efforts to “fit in” and be “successful” have led to the painful denial of her true identity as a mystic, an empath and an artist. How she comes to a place of self-acceptance is the thrust of the story.
Caroline Allen is a remarkable wordsmith. I savored this book as I read it while simultaneously wanting to hurry along to discover the outcome of Pearl’s journey. Anyone who has struggled with integrating their metaphysical/spiritual life with third dimensional reality will appreciate the protagonist’s sensitivity and vulnerability. The author has excelled at drawing the reader into Pearl’s world to experience her suffering and her deep connection with nature. The prose is full of wisdom without being preachy and there is even a bit of sardonic comic relief in Gem, Pearl’s next door neighbor.
Water is the fourth book of the five-book Elemental Journey series. I have not read the previous three (Earth, Air, and Fire), and after devouring this novel I plan to track them down. I was able to grasp most of the significant nuances on this story, but I think I would have greatly benefited from the historical context of the first three. I am definitely looking forward to the fifth installment in the series.
My thanks to the author, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication.
Pearl Swinton, now in her early thirties, has struggled her whole life with her metaphysical gifts, which may seem more a curse than a blessing. Born into an abusive and generally dysfunctional family she shut down her insights, became “invisible” and began a life-long search for a sense of belonging…in other words…home. After traveling the globe, Pearl has now settled in Seattle, struggling to support herself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Her heroine’s journey unfolds as a soul-inspired healing journey to reclaim all the lost parts of herself sacrificed since childhood. As she struggles with crippling depression and isolation, she begins to realize that all her efforts to “fit in” and be “successful” have led to the painful denial of her true identity as a mystic, an empath and an artist. How she comes to a place of self-acceptance is the thrust of the story.
Caroline Allen is a remarkable wordsmith. I savored this book as I read it while simultaneously wanting to hurry along to discover the outcome of Pearl’s journey. Anyone who has struggled with integrating their metaphysical/spiritual life with third dimensional reality will appreciate the protagonist’s sensitivity and vulnerability. The author has excelled at drawing the reader into Pearl’s world to experience her suffering and her deep connection with nature. The prose is full of wisdom without being preachy and there is even a bit of sardonic comic relief in Gem, Pearl’s next door neighbor.
Water is the fourth book of the five-book Elemental Journey series. I have not read the previous three (Earth, Air, and Fire), and after devouring this novel I plan to track them down. I was able to grasp most of the significant nuances on this story, but I think I would have greatly benefited from the historical context of the first three. I am definitely looking forward to the fifth installment in the series.
My thanks to the author, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication.
December 27, 2021
Water by Caroline Allen takes readers on a spiritual journey following a journalist named Pearl, who has worked jobs in America and Europe. She discovers mysticism when she meets a medium as a way to retake control of her life. Pearl explores the abuse she endured from her parents, nuns in the Catholic school and her nonchalant boyfriends. She fights to find her purpose in life. She is supported by her close friends and spirit guides who advise her on decision-making about career and love life. She becomes a Reiki healer, tarot card reader, dream interpreter and adds more spiritual skills to her bucket of metaphysical abilities.
Water, while a work of fiction, educates readers about various spiritual and metaphysical practices, and shares illuminating experiences, all from a medium’s point of view. From this captivating novel, readers will understand why people choose to embrace their psychic abilities and learn about their grounding principles in communing with the spirits. One of the primary lessons learned is that psychics are averse to drugs, alcohol, violence, abuse, and other forms of negativity. It is for this reason that psychics interpret dreams and act as healers; they have a deep sense of needing to help others. What makes the plot of this intriguing novel interesting and immersive, is how well the characters are created. They are well defined and their experiences are vividly described. Reading this absorbing story will transport readers into the often misunderstood world of psychics.
Author Caroline Allen uses strong symbolism when describing Pearl’s dreams and possessive visions, and premonitions. Flashbacks are used in Peals journalism writing, keeping the plot unpredictable and engaging. It’s impressive to see how she meshes themes of abuse, religion, divinity, career, poverty community, and relationships into a spellbinding but cohesive story. This hodgepodge of themes helps the reader understand the chaotic life that Pearl is living and why she is determined to find peace, even if it means leaving a job she is successful at.
Water by Caroline Allen is a riveting novel that will resonate with readers who are interested in mysticism and spiritually. It will also appeal to readers of women’s fiction and those that have a curiosity about divination and philosophy.
Water, while a work of fiction, educates readers about various spiritual and metaphysical practices, and shares illuminating experiences, all from a medium’s point of view. From this captivating novel, readers will understand why people choose to embrace their psychic abilities and learn about their grounding principles in communing with the spirits. One of the primary lessons learned is that psychics are averse to drugs, alcohol, violence, abuse, and other forms of negativity. It is for this reason that psychics interpret dreams and act as healers; they have a deep sense of needing to help others. What makes the plot of this intriguing novel interesting and immersive, is how well the characters are created. They are well defined and their experiences are vividly described. Reading this absorbing story will transport readers into the often misunderstood world of psychics.
Author Caroline Allen uses strong symbolism when describing Pearl’s dreams and possessive visions, and premonitions. Flashbacks are used in Peals journalism writing, keeping the plot unpredictable and engaging. It’s impressive to see how she meshes themes of abuse, religion, divinity, career, poverty community, and relationships into a spellbinding but cohesive story. This hodgepodge of themes helps the reader understand the chaotic life that Pearl is living and why she is determined to find peace, even if it means leaving a job she is successful at.
Water by Caroline Allen is a riveting novel that will resonate with readers who are interested in mysticism and spiritually. It will also appeal to readers of women’s fiction and those that have a curiosity about divination and philosophy.
May 27, 2022
Caroline Allen is a lyrical, poetic, crystalline author. I am blessed to have read the previous three books in the Elemental Journey as well as Water. There is a spoiler alert here...these books will spoil subsequent reading for quite some time.
Imagine a life discovering, from birth, how to navigate a world of intimately perceived layers. What is "real", what is shareable, what is safe and survivable? And how do you use what you are discovering in which layer?
Caroline's ability to illustrate the sublime as well and the devastating as we travel the path of spiritual truth with our Hero is stunning. (And there is no question that this "her", Pearl, is a Her-o.) Description does not do justice to passages that visualize and illuminate for us the experience of Pearl's senses and emotions.
Water is unlike the earlier books in that Pearl is an adult and in the throws of "the dark night of the soul".
What is her True identity? Or perhaps, identities? How can she live on a planet so intimately palpable in a way that violates neither her Self or the Earth?
I have learned so much about truth and honesty, self and other (or rather the oneness of self/other), and the necessity for creative expression on this journey with Pearl. I am sincerely grateful for Caroline's undertaking what must have often been wrenching in order to bring us an experience that allows for deep contemplation, growth and conversation.
Lisa Cooper
Imagine a life discovering, from birth, how to navigate a world of intimately perceived layers. What is "real", what is shareable, what is safe and survivable? And how do you use what you are discovering in which layer?
Caroline's ability to illustrate the sublime as well and the devastating as we travel the path of spiritual truth with our Hero is stunning. (And there is no question that this "her", Pearl, is a Her-o.) Description does not do justice to passages that visualize and illuminate for us the experience of Pearl's senses and emotions.
Water is unlike the earlier books in that Pearl is an adult and in the throws of "the dark night of the soul".
What is her True identity? Or perhaps, identities? How can she live on a planet so intimately palpable in a way that violates neither her Self or the Earth?
I have learned so much about truth and honesty, self and other (or rather the oneness of self/other), and the necessity for creative expression on this journey with Pearl. I am sincerely grateful for Caroline's undertaking what must have often been wrenching in order to bring us an experience that allows for deep contemplation, growth and conversation.
Lisa Cooper
April 24, 2022
Water is the fourth book in Caroline Allen’s Elemental Journey Series, however it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Pearl Swinton is undergoing a sea-change. She has just returned from a ten-year stint abroad working as a journalist. The story opens with Pearl in Seattle. Depressed, broke, and alone, Pearl struggles to survive, while striving to understand her inner turmoil. Pearl is internally focused, and has difficulty making connections with others. She is not an easy person to like due to her intense, driven personality. She is opinionated and passionate about her beliefs. Pearl is a Psychic, and an Empath. She experiences visions. Pearl helps others by giving Tarot readings. Pearl finds nature calming, and she goes on long hikes during the weekends. This book may appeal to those who feel they do not fit in. Many people feel disconnected and seek answers. Pearl identifies as an outsider. We feel her anger, pain, and hope, as she searches for self-fulfillment.
June 3, 2022
How do readers approach award-winning author Caroline Allen’s "WATER"? A few readers stand on shore while skipping flat stones across the surface, that soon sink, leaving only fading ripples. Other readers only enter ankle deep before lazily returning to the comfort of their towel left on the beach. But then there are readers who trust Caroline to provide a deep and thrilling dive. We eagerly climb up the steep and slippery bank, grab a huge fistful of graceful branches overhanging the lake, and swing out as far as possible. We yell "Let Go!" and joyously splash into the metaphysical, dark, shocking, chilling, mysterious and, oh yes, refreshing adventure of Caroline’s writing. Many of the jumpers have faced disorienting and scary challenges similar to those of protagonist "Pearl" and of author Caroline. Readers who have spent years floundering and fearful, living through the damages, pains and small deaths to, amazingly, survive the "dark nights of the soul.” Pearl is a Gem, waterborne in turbulence. But Caroline Allen, the lyrical, visionary thinker/author holds us always in a firm rescue grip as she takes us to enlightening new depths. She also is a Gem; the sparkling Mother of Pearl. Turning the last page of “WATER”, we pop up laughing, gasping, awash in awakenings, learnings, yearnings we had not ventured through before. We know there are shadows yet to be explored. We await with bated breath to again travel with Caroline and Pearl in "Ether."
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews