Cultural Acknowledgment:

I wrote Lighting the Earth in 2006. It happened one morning, in the growing glow of dawn, that I put the first draft of Lighting the Earth on the page. It took me all of two hours to write the story of Sashi, a little girl living in the heart of strong community, the glow of her mother’s loving attention, and nature. A little girl potent with the potential for purpose, desperate to unfurl into the true meaning of her life with thoughtful, intentional support from her mother.

The story went through many, many drafts until I reached point where the writing communicated the gift I had hoped to offer my own daughter and daughters everywhere. Given the universal nature of the message in this book and given my struggles within a society that disadvantages people on the autism spectrum, women, people of color, and other non-dominant groups, I thought it would be beneficial to ask my illustrator to create images of a family living in a culture outside of typical US dominant norm. My intent was to be respectful, but even positive intents can cause harm.

It seemed to be a valid choice for where our society was in 2008, but given the current continuum of cultural competence, I understand now that it would have been far more competent for me to have either found an African illustrator or to have asked someone to create illustrations to reflect of my own Middle Eastern ancestry.

I had no idea in 2008 that the systemic racism I sought to address would unearth my own ignorance, but it did. And so, it is against the backdrop of current cultural considerations, I wish to make the following public acknowledgements:

1) The images in Lighting the Earth are representative of a culture to which neither myself nor my illustrator belong;

2) My illustrator created the images upon my request;

3) I no longer accept income on this version of Lighting the Earth; and

4) I intend to publish a new edition with culturally appropriate illustrations.

I truly regret any offense the illustrations may have caused and hope that my original intent of wanting to promote positive images of diverse cultures may be of benefit in some way.

a river of Praise for lighting the earth!

“In my village, in West Africa, it is held that each of us comes into this world with a purpose, a gift to deliver.  Children and adults alike will recognize the voice of spirit in these pages as they take this gentle journey into remembering who we are and why we are here.”

~ Malidoma P. Somé, Author of Healing Wisdom of Africa'

“There is so much extraordinary beauty packed into Lighting the Earth. Most prominently though, the book beautifully describes how each and every person has a unique purpose in life. Children of all ages will fall in love with the characters and be moved to find their own inner light.”

~ Green Teacher Magazine

“Lighting the Earth portrays a loving, trusting relationship between a mother and daughter, one that brings to light in a child-friendly manner, with beautifully-crafted and realistic illustrations, the universal truth that we are all born with a gift and that our purpose in life is to share that gift with the world. Children and adults will surely love this heart-warming book. I highly recommend it for bedtime reading.”

~ Arun Narayan Toké, Editor, Skipping Stones Magazine

“This book is a springboard for insightful classroom discussion. Lighting the Earth has inspired heartwarming dialogues with my students. I love how Diana captures the special relationship between mother and daughter.”

~ Sharon McManus, Teacher of 43 years, Oyster River Schools

“My daughter really enjoyed this book! It was very uplifting! She told me that she enjoyed the message about everyone having a special light in them and that this book made her feel good. I think children of all ages can enjoy "Lighting the Earth" and take away its very special message. Such a lovely, positive book. Thankful to this author for creating such beautiful works for our children.”

~ Chris, Amazon Review

“I just loved this book. As a retired elementary educator, I can easily see children embracing this touching story not to mention the valuable discussions following. There are tender moments between mother and child who show great respect for one another . A valuable teaching tool for children of all ages with engaging illustrations to capture their interest.”

~ Catherine, Amazon Review

“This is a beautiful book; I bought it on impulse for a 7 year old friend's birthday without reading it. I just read it and it filled me with light. It is a book every child should have and a story every child should hear and read as young as possible to set him or her on a solid spiritual path.”

~ Ann, Amazon Review

“There are a lot of books out there that attempt to do what this one does masterfully; the lesson that happiness is found within. This story isn't something new per se, many books out there attempt to try to explain to us the process of meditation and happiness, but this one gets right to the core of what we need to do.”

~ Mary, Amazon Review

“An inspiring story! Encourages every child's inner light to shine, describing in simple language how it feels to be confused about one's identity, and to then recognize and embrace our individual gifts. The mother's love is represented as encouraging and powerful in guiding the girl toward self understanding. The girl's feelings and struggles are taken seriously and examined with loving compassion.”

~ Rosemary, Amazon Review

Available at:

• Ecojustice Press

• Amazon