Kathy McCartney -- "The Maui Magical Mystical Tour"

There are occasions in every woman's life when she’s so broken by love that she must pick herself up, dust herself off, and start all over again. For single mom, Katie, one such setback happens after she intercepts an amorous text from another woman to her fiancée, who later boots her from his home. Now with nowhere permanent to go, but willing to listen to the whisper of a dream, Katie buys a one-way ticket to Maui intent on not only healing her wounds, but also on...well...re-virginizing herself at forty-seven years of age.

So unfolds Kathy McCartney's "The Maui Magical Mystical Tour," that follows Katie on an often funny and repeatedly filled-with-temptation ride. McCartney’s cast of characters is as colorful as the book suggests, and while she claims it’s a work of fiction, it’s also based on the author’s real life experience. She’d been scouring the Internet for refuge when she happened upon the “Juicy Living Tour” video featuring a Haiku hideaway called the Maui Eco Retreat. She decided instantly it provided everything she needed.

“When I first saw the ‘Juicy’ video, I got teary eyed,” McCartney says of the holistic approach they bundled within the divinity of Mother Nature’s arms. “It was off the beaten path but gets the energy and heart of the island. It was money well spent.” Kathy Davey, a West Maui Book Club member, suggests that McCartney’s account provides a glimpse into a retreat adventure that “a few readers might contemplate but never quite have the guts to undertake.”

But thank goodness McCartney did because she’s shone a light into the world of deities and a blue-faced guru, enlightened woofers, heart readings, and other spiritual and yogi practices. She’s also contributed to Hawaii’s GNH, which quite nicely refers to Gross National Happiness and something that rose precipitously while she was sequestered in a sexually-charged jungle.

Now in the afterglow of her experience, McCartney says she’s more passionate than ever about her work, her dreams, and her visions. She's also reopen to love but is defining and living with it on her terms.

The overall romp was “insightful” and “enthralling,” commends fellow WMBC member, Kelli Lundgren. Whereas other members who wanted more profundity, found it an easy, light read from a unique perspective.

For those of you interested in McCartney’s fictionalized journey of self discovery, you can find “The Maui Magical Mystical Tour” on Amazon at www.Amazon.com or you can contact Kathy McCartney directly through one of two web sites: her vacation rental company, Maui Vision Rentals, at www.MauiVision.com or her artist web site at www.McCartneyFineArt.com.

Written by: Elaine Gallant, Dec. 2016
West Maui Book Club