Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart

I read a quotation from this book long ago and knew I had to track it down. Little Opal is alive to everything, and she turns everything she experiences into a hymn to life. When I feel the mundane pressing down on me, I pick up this book and feel my heart lighten. Is the book "authentic"? Was it really written by a lonely little girl out in the wilds on scraps of whatever paper came to hand? Frankly, I don't think it much matters. What matters is the creation of a spiritual tool which will endure and enchant. Does changing the format of the original printing matter? I think that presenting Opal's writings as poetry serve them much better than as a flat prose rendition. If one really wished to represent the work accurately, it would have to be recreated as an exact copy of all those hundreds of little pieces of paper on which Opal wrote her words. The poetic treatment is very satisfactory to me, and I think most readers will also find it so.

This beautiful, lyrical journal, written by a 6-year-old prodigy from the backwoods of Oregon, will have you gazing in wonder at fire hydrants and listening to the song of the subways. Opal has a direct relationship with every tree, horse, rat and blade of grass in her backyard, and is able to see every living thing as a gift from God.The story behind the publication of the journal is a sad one, but the diary itself is timeless and transcendent. Opal may have died in obscurity but her lovely spirit lives on in her work.

It is amazing how such an incredibly beautiful is so little known and distributed. I picked up this book by chance at my local library and since then have been searching for it at bookstores because not only do i want my own copy, but i want to give to my frends as gifts. However, this priceless treasure of a book is so difficult to find! One of the major bookstores here finally tracked down the last 4 copies for sale in America, and i ordered all 4 of them with my fingers crossed...but to no avail. It's been about 2 months now, and i have lost hope of ever owning my own copy...I have never come across any book that embodies such innocence, purity and beauty as this book. This is a book which restores my faith and love of life after continual exposure to the harsher side of life. It is such a beautiful and heartwarming book. Hopefully one day i will be able to get my own copy, but for now i'll have to make do with borrowing the library's copy. (i did think of stealing their copy and then claiming it missing, but i didnt want other people to miss out on the chance of reading it)If anyone reading this know where i can get a copy, please write to me at [email protected] It will be much appreciated.

We all owe Benjamin Hoff a debt of gratitude for discovering this book. If he didn't work so hard to recapture these words in print a very unique voice would have been lost to us... Also this book acts as a beautiful addition to his books on Taoism... For, in a way, here is Taoism in action. For we see the beauty of nature and the world through the eyes of this child. And isn't that something all Taoists strive for?I highly recommend this book. I hope you purchase it and keep the memory and the stories of Opal alive.