Stone, River, Rain: Currents in a Single Flow is heroic, harrowing, and magical.

This is a story of unselfish love and indomitable courage in the face of cruelty, violence, and tragic loss. The simple, human need to give and receive love draws the novel’s heroines—mother, daughter, and refugee child—into each other’s lives as we follow Mimi, the central character, on her journey from the busy streets and verdant parks of San Francisco to the dry desert home of the Hadendowa tribe of Sudan, East Africa. The writing is vivid, at times mischievous, and the book features a cast of unlikely characters, with Rabe, the park raven, Moses, the cherished pet dog, a beloved backyard tree, doves, elephants, and a very special camel meandering through the chapters. Ultimately, Stone, River, Rain is a powerful and poetic debut novel—a tale of the quiet triumph of love over doubt and despair.

Inspired by a commitment to social justice, Maria Eitz has devoted her life and career to improving the lives of children locally and internationally. She founded and directed respite care in San Francisco, California, where for 35 years she offered free child care, early assessment, intervention for at-risk children, and support for parents. Between 1970–1975, she adopted four orphaned children in Vietnam. At the end of the war, Maria initiated the Orphan Airlift for children from Vietnam and Cambodia. She is also the founder and director of Medical Volunteers International and has extensive experience creating human rights programs in Asia and Africa. Maria was born in Germany and has a broad background in psychology and theology. Since her retirement in 2012, Maria has been ordained a Roman Catholic priest and now has a ministry in San Francisco.