"Beginning with a vision of a dark-skinned girl barely out of adolescence when she gives birth, Lesley Hazleton draws a fierce and inspiring portrait from Mary's myriad identities: peasant villager, wise woman and healer, activist, mother, teacher, and yes, virgin, though in a sense we have long forgotten. We see how she becomes pregnant, how she raises her son to inspire and to lead, and how she survives the worst any mother can experience - the excruciating death of her child. Above all, as Jesus is buried and resurrected, we gain new insight into the depth of Mary's wisdom as she transforms grief into action, and disaster into renewal."--BOOK JACKET.