Rise to the Sun is a courageous exploration of personal trauma, recovery and expansion. A timely and necessary work, it illustrates how humankind must seek to heal its own innate suffering before it can hope to succeed in healing the various external crises affecting our planet.
The author, along with the brave women and men who open up their stories and teachings, are our living teachers. Each has struggled with pain and grief to actualize new ways of seeing life and gaining freedom. The art of living is learning to be good to ourselves.
Guiding us to feel safe in the face of change, this book includes stories and insights from diverse personalities such as Nancy B. Black, MD, Colonel, US Army, Retired; Tamara Buchwald, Attorney; Kathy Eldon, Founder, Creative Visions; Tim McHenry, Chief Programmatic Officer, Rubin Museum of Art; Winsome McIntosh, President, The McIntosh Foundation; JoAnn Wright Milliken, Ph.D., Senior Executive, US Department of Energy, Retired; Jessica Rockwood, President, International Public Health Advisors; Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn, Trustee, The American University of Paris; The Rev. Eva Suarez, Associate Rector, St. James’ Church; Tom Vendetti, Ph.D., Psychologist and Emmy-winning filmmaker.

Richly textured with compelling works of art and images from major artists and museum collections from around the world (China, Canada, France, Japan, USA), RISE TO THE SUN plays with travel and journey in two senses—forward on a physical road and into the heart of the self.

Works of art by Ida O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Zhang Xiaogang, Andrei Rublev, Bo Bartlett, Antoine Watteau, Lawren Harris, Winslow Homer, and Odilon Redon emphasize the purpose of each chapter and footstep as a way of action and reflection.

The Prayers by C.L. Sulzberger, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Hermann Hesse, Nancy B. Black, MD, Colonel, US Army, Retired, the Iroquois/Haudenosaunee Confederacy, The Mother (Mirra Alfassa), Annie Besant, and Richard J. Marks give us something to do: they guide us actively toward seeing what needs to be released, surrendered, completed, forgiven and cherished. They also bring us into the heart.

Finding freedom is a life-long aspiration that lights our way out of hell. The 7 Footsteps and 7 Prayers unlock a kinder, gentler and long-lasting engine for transformation.

Richard Marks