Isabel’s Starry Night The Magical Quest for Alchemy

Second Edition 2023

Copyright © 2022 by Wanda Webster All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, whether written, printed, electronic, or otherwise, without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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Editorial Praise

The authors did a fantastic job of bringing each character to life, making them feel real and relatable. From the quirky individuals Isabel meets on her journey to the important relationships with her family, I was fully invested in each character’s story. – OnlineBookClub

What I loved most about Isabel’s Starry Night is the message it conveys. It’s a reminder that even when life seems uncertain, we all have the power to transform our lives and find our inner peace. The journey Isabel takes is a reminder to never give up and always keep searching for the light in the darkest places. - OnlineBookClub

Overall, Isabel’s Starry Night is a beautiful and magical book that I would highly recommend to anyone searching for answers and meaning in life. The author’s storytelling is captivating, and the lessons learned along the way are truly inspiring. It’s a must-read for anyone on a journey of self-discovery. - OnlineBookClub

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It contained a lot of great lessons, and there was nothing to dislike about it. It was professionally edited, as I found one error. I recommend this book to people who enjoy books about self-discovery.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Journey of Self-Discovery and Transformation. Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2023 Isabel’s Starry Night took me on an incredible journey of self-discovery and transformation. As someone who has struggled to find my place in the world, I immediately connected with Isabel’s character. Her journey to find answers and meaning in life was relatable, and the obstacles she faced along the way were both unique and unforgettable.

This book talked about different things pertinent to humans in ways that can be easily understood. Wonderful!

Isabel’s journey of self-discovery is eye-opening. Readers would learn from the ways Isabel adapted in order to find her purpose and to rise above her limitations. Totally worth it! Flawless work!!

As an art fan, I liked that this book concentrated on art, particularly Vincent Van Gogh. He was a gifted artist who suffered from a mental disease that most people assumed was bi-polar disorder. In an asylum, he created some of his most famous works. I had never heard of him before reading this book, but I found it fascinating.

I loved reading about Johnny Appleseed, a legendary pioneer who traveled around America sowing apple seeds. Although I had seen the Disney animation centered around him, learning more about this amazing man who had significant influence on America’s history was intriguing.

Dedications

This book is dedicated to all the courageous people who constantly strive to improve conditions for themselves and others and who try their best to ease another’s pain. To the Change Makers of the world, those who see a better vision for our future, and to all those who wish to learn how.

And thank you, Christopher Mack. You embody all that is kind, right, and noble in this world. I could not have a better partner in life. ~ Wanda Webster

Thank you, Jennifer. You are my grace and my blessing. My loving, patient (oh so patient) wife, sounding board, parachute, early warning system, safety net, best friend, lovely girlfriend, brilliant artist, great human being, modest to a fault, honest, mother to our clan and really, really pretty. Never was there a luckier ER patient.

Dr. Susannah Castle: you have been my caring, brilliant, cornerman. Whether I am being throttled by a brutish opponent, by reality, or by myself, you have always been in my corner; to steady me, close my wounds, help me catch my breath, focus me and above all give me the strength to go on in my constant fight against the world. ~ Richard M.

Nirmāna

by Alixen Pham © August 2022

We enter this world through earthlight, strange hands catching

us as we fall from warm darkness into the cold belly of life.

Our mother’s voice foretells our destiny: Babe, Sweetling,

Child of pain and desire. All my hopes, all my longings

I bequeath to you. This shapes the map of our feet, the needs

of our grasp, heart a fretful creature hungry for morsels

of identity, of purpose, of belonging. We exhaust our lives

searching the great expanse, listen to every mouth, sacrifice

to Ra and Yahweh, Shiva to Allah, Jesus and the digital

god’s merciless eyes. Anything to not be alone in the chasm

of our deficiencies. Endless voices gnaw at our mind, goading

us to stumble through relationships and addresses like drunkards

gorged on fear and frustrations. Our prayers return to us, stamped:

Undeliverable. Address unknown. After unnumbered starless

seasons, the agony of our longing scours us like wind and water,

polishing layers of dead flesh, distorted beliefs, embers of the past

that crooked our back and blighted our sight, until finally—

call it exhaustion, call it surrender, call it wisdom—Something©

within sirens us. Recalls us to our origins, when each cell of our

being knew itself, its purpose, its source of light in the gradient

womb of blackness. It lulls us back to the sweet shell of our self,

feel the wings of our clavicles, how the universe sings our name

as blessing, the beautiful and fiery breath of Om, a being wrought

with flaring eyes. The tiny smile of awakening dances on our lips.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Do You Believe in Magic?

Chapter Two

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Chapter Three

The Resilient Human Spirit

Chapter Four

The Power of One Tiny Seed

Chapter Five

Acceptance and a Little Bit of Puppy Love

Chapter Six

Into the Pit of Despair

Chapter Seven

The Field of Dreams

Preface

This story is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental, with the exception of the following:

The various food festivals and Lummi Tribe exist; however, the storyline and characters are fictional. We attempted to depict the tribe’s culture and traditions with respect, truth, and dignity to the best of our ability.

The Urban Voices Project is an actual non-profit organization; the characters are depicted with their permission. The storyline of Isabel, however, is fictional as she interacts with these characters.

Although Jim Peters is the mayor of the lovely town of Adel, Iowa, the story is fictional, revolving around our character, Isabel. As well, Dan and Uta Norenberg have given their permission to use their likeness in our fictional story.

Make sure to visit Big Al’s BBQ if you travel through Adel, Iowa. It’s real and the BBQ is great.

CHAPTER ONE

Do You Believe in Magic?

Isabel Hotchkiss woke up at 10 A.M. She lay there quietly, not moving. She planned to roll out of bed, get dressed, go downstairs, have as much coffee, and as little contact with her family as possible. She needed to tie up any loose ends for her trip and work on Van Go, her 1955 Harvester International Metro van. Her thought immediately went to, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’

In a much, much former life, her Metro van had been an Alpenrose Dairy milk truck that used to rumble and clatter down suburban Portland streets, leaving a milky, watery trail that the neighborhood cats appreciated. The original looked like a white bulbous Volkswagen van puffed up like a balloon, twice as big as the original VW, with none of those nifty little clerestory-type windows near the roof line. When most people under fifty saw it, their first thought was that it might be a super-sized Volkswagen van. Isabel loved correcting the assumptions and sharing the Metro van’s backstory.

It still looked like a milk delivery truck, but under the hood. Ah! Under the hood! Thanks to her mother and father’s time, money, and skills, it was a hybrid gas/electric, mostly battery-powered, state-of-the-art vehicle. The van would draw a lot of attention because Isabel painted the outside of it with her favorite painting of all time, her rather impressive version of Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Hence the admittedly corny/ almost daddy joke name, Van Go.

She was pulling on her overalls when she remembered something else. It was her birthday. Dang! she quietly growled. Drat, Gosh Darn! She stopped and was annoyed that she was already annoyed this early in the morning. She sat on her bed, listening for any movement or shuffling downstairs that would indicate her mother was doing something to prepare for exactly what she didn’t want.

It should be noted that celebrations, especially birthdays, were a tradition in the Hotchkiss family. As far as Philip, her father and master chef, was concerned, any notable event was worthy of a culinary celebration. For Philip, love was any celebration shared; the best thing to share was food, great food, glorious food! Lovingly prepared meals created and given from the heart were what Philip called kitchen alchemy because of how they transformed the energy of any celebration.

The food of the holidays (any holiday) was the primary focus of Philip’s culinary visions and challenges. Preparing and creating feasts for Christmas, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, and Easter was a given. But it did not end there. Nope. Not by a long shot. Philip found inspiration in a cornucopia of religious celebrations involving food, some religious, some national, some International, and some historic. His favorite motto about Jewish holidays was made by the character played by Laura San Giacomo (Flo Applebaum) in the essentially obscure and unknown comedy film, Checking Out, starring Peter Falk. All Jewish holidays could be summed up in nine words. They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat!

He was about to launch into creating an ultimate gourmet waffle latke with smoked salmon and creme fraiche when Zitui buns, the focal point and symbol of the Chinese celebration of Tomb Sweeping Day, grabbed his ADHD/OCD curiosity. He was a master pastry chef, having won the prestigious James Beard Pastry Award and a silver medal in the Asian Pastry Cup awards for superior pastry design in Asia, so there were few things that intimidated Philip. The reporter from Cake magazine said that his Zitui buns looked like Easter eggs on acid! It was closer to the truth than they knew.

Despite her father’s joyous food-related festivals, Isabel’s 21st birthday was a celebration she strongly requested her parents not carry out. No cake. No gifts, no cards, a non-event. When she demanded the non-birthday, she had been quite adamant about it, giving them many reasons, such as the state of the world and the state of her hometown of Portland, Oregon, after the multiple pandemic restrictions. There was also the escalating homelessness, graduating college with honors, as she called it, Summa cum Nada and student debt which will keep me financially enslaved for about 130 years.

Benjamin, her younger brother, and a Gen Z Zoomer, called Isabel a Doomer.

Two months ago, he rolled the Doomer stink bomb into her foxhole in front of their mom and dad. Isabel told him to go to hell, but a shrapnel of truth drew blood. It’s the label given to people worried about a random list of global crises like overpopulation, worsening climate change, dying oceans, dying coral reefs, dying, generally anything and everything.

She prepared a clever workaround, anticipating this same attack from Benjamin regarding her request for a non-birthday two weeks ago.

"Mom, Dad, I’ll admit I’m worried about so many things going on in the world. But there’s one thing I’m mostly concerned about: the present and future life of one Isabel Maria Hotchkiss! You