Books

Legends of the American Desert: Sojourns in the Greater Southwest, by Alex Shoumatoff (1997)

This entertaining collection of short essays spans topics from a Sedona vortex tour to the scarcity and importance of water in the Southwest. One chapter is devoted to Phoenix: its not-too-stellar past and current New Age energy. Shoumatoff embarks on a "soul-life reading" from a transplant from Brooklyn who tells him, "Phoenix is the solar-plexus chakra of the earth . . . . People come here to cleanse themselves."

Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver (1991)

After failing to achieve her professional dream of becoming a medical practitioner, Codi Noline returns to her hometown of Grace, Arizona, to take care of her father, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When Grace's water supply is ruined by pollution, Codi joins the fight to preserve her town's resources. In this Southwestern town steeped in Native American culture, Codi rediscovers her passion for life and reconnects with her family and past.