Book excerpt: "Darkness: the place where light best reveals itself." In the potent and poignant language of fine literature, this stunningly honest autobiographical novel grants candid views of chronic illness, blindness, and Native American racial identity, against the backdrop of a world often determined to demean, degrade, and disenfranchise. Though Amy Krout-Horn's inheritance brings illness, it also brings strong medicine, medicine remembered on a cellular level, derived from the profound wisdom of her Lakota ancestors. But can the ancient council fire's "spark" that ignited within a young girl's heart continue to guide the woman, even as the monster drags her into the "darkest darkness"? Like the reverberations of a native drum, Amy Krout-Horn's visceral voice resounds, imparting the message that, sometimes, our bloodlines become our lifelines.