Join the ‘Dance in the Desert’

   Kathleen Popa is a Boulder City High School alumnus who now lives in Northern California and writes novels and a blog called Reading, Writing, and What Else is There? Sounds like a booknookafile to me!
   Her first book is “To Dance in the Desert,” which features Dara Murphy Brogran, a woman broken almost beyond repair by the tragedies in her life. Note I said “almost.” Because into her world on a lonely desert mountaintop dances Jane Cameron, a widowed missionary with a few issues of her own.
   The action moves between the wilderness and the nearest town where Jane’s brother, a widower, struggles to run a café and raise his young daughter. Dara, who finds new meaning working in the restaurant, begins to deal with her dark corners by searching for her long-lost mother.
   Religious and spiritual issues are tackled head-on without blinking. This is no cookie-cutter happy-talk Christian fairy tale. Even characters who could easily be caricatures reveal surprising depth and awareness. It’s an interesting exploration of human relationships — with each other and a higher power. You’ve no doubt heard the phrase “preaching to the choir.” Well, this book deserves an audience beyond the choir.