Journal of Humanitarian Affairs: Tom Peek’s ‘Daughters of Fire,’ offers Hawaiian adventure through prism of survival

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Daughters of Fire[/caption]

Carol Forsloff----Most people carry a fantasy view of Hawaii, from literature and occasional visits to the islands, of palm trees, soft sands and lovely maidens, woven into tales that seldom capture much beyond island myths. But Tom Peek, author of Daughters of Fire, has done more than write a captivating story, as he weaves into his narrative the essence of Hawaiian culture fused with knowledge from his own submersion in living and working with the local people.

An interview with Peek at the Benson Hotel, one of Portland’s best-known and one of its most historic places in Oregon , reinforced this writer’s own perceptions and affections for Hawaii. Peek is more than a teller of tales but a man of deeply held feelings that he expresses well in conversation that establishes knowledge of history, culture, and environment.

The book Daughters of Fire tells the story of modern Hawaii, with its political problems and controversies. Peek brings it to life through his experience and knowledge, gleaned from years of studying with local Hawaiians and living among them as brother and friend. His book reflects his passion and respect for Hawaii, most especially the Big Island, site of Hawaii’s famous and feared volcanoes.

In recounting the mysteries and mystique of Hawaii, Peek is able to draw from his own experience from living on an island in Minnesota as well as more than 25 years of residency in Hawaii, which he calls home and where he has worked closely with the local people. As a writer for the Kilauea Visitors Center, Peek has had an ongoing intimacy with the elders, or Kapuna, of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Murder, romance, crime, disaster as well as colorful and memorable characters create the drama that unfolds against the backdrop of Hawaii in “Daughters of Fire”. The volcanoes are central to the story, both in how local people revere the spirits of their ancestors and link the behaviors of the island environment as an over-flowing stream that connects everyone both past and present.

How long does it take an author to write a book of more than 500 pages? Peek maintains it requires a lifetime that includes one’s writing history, observations of people and events, joined with the interaction with the material itself in the actual act of producing a book.

Peek had been a writer long before making a home in Hawaii. 30 years ago he had worked in sustainability, and one of his mentors was one of the first to testify on global warming. Peek became a writer on fiscal policy at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, armed with a Masters degree in Public Affairs from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He became disillusioned during the Reagan area and moved to Polynesia. It was there Peek says his faith in human nature was restored by the unique culture and aloha of the people he met in Hawaii.

From growing up on a small island in Minnesota called Grey Cloud, Island, Peek had learned to respect nature, as others like him do and for whom nature can be a significant force in island living. When he arrived in Hawaii, he met traditional people among the Hawaiians who hold the same appreciation for nature he had learned from living on Grey Cloud. Island ways of viewing nature and man as closely connected is a dominant theme of Daughters of Fire. As Peek observes, “Islanders don't see God as having created man separate from nature. Global warming is a spiritual question. We have to discover how we can find solutions. My book is about looking at ideas through a prism of Hawaiian culture that can help Westerners in their own crisis.”

Peek’s ability to capture Hawaii beautifully and accurately comes from experiences of island life both in Hawaii and Minnesota. His observations and affections specific to Hawaiian culture come from years of working and socializing with a diverse group of people, crossing cultural influences that allow the writer to have gained the wealth of details, perspective, and emotional connections to write a book that truly represents the culture and traditions of Hawaii.

Peek immersed himself in Hawaiian culture, interacted with experts in it, while he traveled through the geographical locations depicted in Daughters of Fire. He heard and witnessed the pain the Hawaiians felt at the changes taking place, the greater and greater incursion of the modern world and its materialism on a culture where man-made environmental disturbances are in opposition to island living and that sense of oneness in the community.   His geographical knowledge comes from his work as an eruption ranger and writer for Mauna Kea and Kilauea.   He shares this knowledge and perspective with the reader in a far more knowledgeable and detailed manner than other writers who visited Hawaii occasionally, such as James Michener and Robert Louis Stevenson.

For many writers who have composed short stories or books, the focus is usually on the story itself.   Daughters of Fire, however, is more than a story. It is a message about man’s connection to the environment which is important for man’s ultimate survival. As Peek said in this interview, “The man-made aspects of climate change would not have occurred if people treated the environment as they do in Hawaiian culture. Their nature would never create global warming. That’s why it is important to look at the Hawaiian culture and other traditional cultures, to help Westerners get through their malaise. Western culture is in crisis, and people don’t know how to respond. Traditional cultures have characteristics that can help Westerners find their way. The best solutions may come from traditional culture. “

Peek goes on to explain that a cursory glance or passing interest in traditional cultures is insufficient in modeling behaviors, as it is more than wisdom one can find there. Hawaiians trust intuition, as Westerners rely on science.    With tears in his eyes, Peek said, “I learned to appreciate what aloha means from the Kapunas. Aloha is a love of the community, the family. The Hawaiian word for family, ‘ohana,’ means far more than the Western concept, as it embraces the entire community as it fuses with nature.   In the Western world materialism and over-stimulation take people away from their natural environment. In Hawaii, relationship is important, and Hawaiians are less likely to spend most of their time on the Internet. Progress needs to be redefined and traditional ideas should be part of the future.”

Peek’s book, Daughters of Fire, not only captures the very soul of Hawaiian culture, but creates an absorbing tale where those “daughters”, especially the three who guide and support the PhD anthropologist whose work and witness inspires the adventures of the book, respond with the strength emanating from the mystical force of the female Goddess, Madam Pele. The personal courage of those daughters, and their intuition and knowledge, help shape the Big Island and its people as in some ways it seems to have guided the writing of Daughters of Fire.

Find the mystery, adventure, excitement and wisdom from this must-read novel. It’s not just the thrill of the ride that will stay with you but the feeling of wonderment that life as it seems in the modern world can find a better way by using the best of the world’s traditional people, as in Hawaii.

The following are links from the website www.daughtersoffire.com, reflecting the awards and accolades the book has already received: