Bearing Fruit

"This close encounter with the shimmering soul of poet and visual artist Leslie Neustadt will leave each fortunate reader with the taste of honey soaked challah in their mouths and stark visions of the sojourn of this girl-becoming-woman in a world cluttered with voices of her elders, of the men who took her power and the raging beauty of her reclamation. The poems will leave the reader's skin touched by silk and tenderness, hearts pumping with vivid memories tempered by gorgeous prayers for the future. 'Draw signposts upon your body to mark your way, ' the poet writes in her grandmother's voice. Readers may suckle at the breast of this Kali spirited author, who with fierce tongue and ceaseless response meets both transformation and sorrow with equal grace. This collection itself stands as a signpost for readers to guide them through the many transitions life brings. Eloquent and elegant, these poems nourish the reader hungry for soul satisfaction." Suzi Banks Baum, artist, mother, author and editor of "An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice"