'On my desk sits a beautiful engraving, published in another century, that promises me: "Out of the chaos the future emerges in harmony and beauty." Promises and prayers contain their own kinds of answer, as consecrated aspiration. I need this one now...' In her new essay collection, written in the aftermath of September 11th, the author of High Tide In Tucson and The Poisonwood Bible brings to us out of one of history's darker moments an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter