Part 4 Summary and Analysis

"Empowerment" picks up weeks after meeting the turtle, as Sue wonders how she can plant her journey in the world. She has not yet experienced femaleness as power or inner authority. Does she dare? Does she have "the ovaries"? Something is coagulating inside, a volcanic island is emerging. She recalls an interview with Maya Angelou, in which the poet says a writer must have something to say, the ability to express it, and the courage to express it all. Sue suddenly understands empowerment. The newly-awakened woman is like a sapling transplanted into hostile soil; until it finds ground in a circle of trees, it is dry. In the circle, they put down roots, grow strong, and lose truth, creativity, and vision like the seeds of a cottonwood tree. Sue wonders why she is uncomfortable writing "power." Perhaps it is because of...