When I come upon written dedications in used books, I wonder if the connections being forged have lasted, and whether the book was accepted in the manner in which it was given (since the book has ended up in my hands, maybe not). Sometimes the dedication is more tantalizing than the actual book. I haven’t read A New Banana but based on the back cover blurb I have doubts:

“In every phase of awakening, with miles to go before we ‘know’ whatever it was we needed to know, the wisdom of the Self comes through. The guidance and support of something greater. Patient, knowing and brave. It only asks that we learn to decode it.”

Did Amanda get what she wanted from the book or did she eventually dismiss it as hooey? Is the mysterious giver the author herself? Possibly, given the idiosyncratic grammar, which matches the idiosyncratic back cover text. I’m sure “wreckless abandon” is an accidental typo, but for some reason I enjoy it as I would a satiric misspelling. Having “joy, abundance and purpose” in our lives seems like too much to ask these days, but why not wish it for someone? If only all such dedications worked that kind of magic.