Grace and the Golden Mountain

By Diann Maree

Raised in beautiful tropical rainforests, Grace grows up on a farm with many animals, from horses to cows and even pigs. Grace always enjoys her special relationship with the animals and her gift of knowing when and if something is wrong.

When her father invites the “pig man” to work on the farm, things begin to change. Grace feels that the pig man is no good, and she is threatened with the possibility of losing her beloved farm and her instinctual connection with the animals. Soon, a black horse with red eyes appears that only Grace can see, making her frightened.

Grace’s kind grandpa mentions a woman named Maree, who is rumored to help people find things they have lost, and Grace knows what she must do. She sets out with her beloved horse, Pepper, to find Maree and the answers she seeks. This journey takes Grace to unfamiliar places, where she discovers new friends and makes her way to the Golden Mountain for the key to uncovering her true self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Mar 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781982297060

Diann Maree

Dianne Maree lives in Australia.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Diann Maree.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-9705-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-9706-0 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/17/2023

Contents

Acknowledgments

A Letter to My Reader

Chapter 1   The Farm

Chapter 2   The Pig Man

Chapter 3   The White Horse and the Black Horse

Chapter 4   Wishing on a Star

Chapter 5   From the Forest to the Wise Man in the Valley

Chapter 6   Lessons Learned and the First Key

Chapter 7   The Golden Mountain

Chapter 8   Going Home

Acknowledgments

To my husband and daughters: You have been the biggest support and encouragement in my life. Thank you for always being there for me—thank you, thank you, thank you. I dearly love all of you!

I would also like to thank and pay my respects to the late Van K. Tharp, PhD. Your teachings have had a life-changing effect on me, and I will always be grateful for what you helped me remember and reclaim! I am also grateful to Van’s wife, Kala Tharp, and to Libby Adams, PhD, DD—both of you have been such positive lights of wisdom and clarity. I dearly value our friendships.

Last, I would like to acknowledge Nirmala Nataraj for helping me breathe life into my story. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you on the quest to bring Grace’s journey into the world.

A Letter to

My Reader

Dear Reader,

I am excited for you to embark on the adventure of reading this book and of exploring alongside Grace on her journey. I wrote this book not just to tell a story but also to share the insights and gifts that come from tapping into your inner voice and intuition. Grace goes on a quest to find six keys that help her live with greater clarity, confidence, and joy—and you can find these keys in your life, too.

Every one of us has experienced losing touch with our true self (that part of us that helps us walk in love and light) and falling under the spell of the false self (that part that might tell us we’re not good enough, we’re not smart enough, or nobody loves us). If we continue to listen to the voice of the false self, we get into all kinds of unhappy situations. However, just like Grace, you can start to build a deeper relationship with the voice of your true self.

This book is really for people of all ages, but I especially want young people to see through Grace’s adventure that it’s possible to feel connected to your loved ones, to the land, and to the universe. The gentle guidance of the universe is with you at all times, and it can help you untangle the false beliefs that might keep you feeling sad, stuck, and unsure of what to do next.

Let this book be a gentle guide to look within, where you will find all the answers, so that you can experience more joy, fun, and connection. May Grace’s journey of self-discovery help you find the missing pieces of your own life puzzle and give you the courage to put them together.

Love,

Diann Maree

Chapter 1

The Farm

If you’ve ever been to a farm, you know they’re the most magical places in the world. Picture several hundred acres of land outside the tropical rainforest of Eastern Australia. Picture the lovely, ancient valley below, full of creeks, waterfalls, secret swimming holes, and grand mountains. Such a place is full of unexpected medicine—the call of the laughing kookaburra; herbs that can be used to mend a scraped knee or steady a queasy stomach; animals that can steal your heart and become part of your family; and the love that rises from the depths of the land itself.

Of course, there is always work to do—gardening, caring for animals, harvesting, cooking, preserving, and repairing all sorts of things. The people in such places are naturally resilient, creative, and sturdy, as they’ve learned to work with the earth by listening deeply to what it has to say. When they listen, the earth responds by offering even more of its gifts.

Spending your early years in such a place is exquisite. Too quickly, the innocent days of childhood—long hours spent climbing trees and observing the details of the sky as day turns to night and then back to day—are replaced by the cares of the world. Maybe these include a move to a big city, a demanding office job, a never-ending list of things to do (that somehow never seem to get done), boring responsibilities, and all kinds of strange rules that don’t make much sense even to the people running about like chickens with their heads cut off trying to follow them!

Life in this world has become increasingly hectic and confusing. It’s easy to lose yourself in the details until you forget what was important to begin with. But on the farm, life is as it should be: filled to the brim with belly laughs, adventures or misadventures, and the willingness to uncover every rock with patience and reverence to find beauty. Here, animals and humans live in harmony, attuned to the rhythms of nature, as they glide from the stillness of the morning to the bumblebee buzz and busyness of the afternoon, to the lovely tuckered-out feeling at the end of a day well spent.

What follows is the story of Grace, a young girl aged twelve who grew up on just such a farm, in the thick of magic and wonder, and whose journey alongside her beloved horse, Pepper, would forever change her life.

**

On most mornings, Grace woke up well before the rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo pierced the quiet. She loved to be up before dawn so she could feel the coolness of the morning dew on her pale, goose-pimpled arms, her nightie clinging to her ankles as she set her bare feet on the soft, wet grass.

She loved to greet herself in the large hallway mirror outside her room and smile so that she could see her big white teeth, which reminded her so much of her family’s beloved horses. She liked to study the smattering of freckles across her nose as it scrunched up in delight while she whispered, Good morning to you, Grace, so as not to wake her older brother, Dave; her older sister, Mary; and her younger brother, James—or Mum and Dad, for that matter, although they would likely be up soon.

Sometimes, Grace would head out to feed the family’s horses—her own beloved Pepper; Dave’s horse, Feather; Mary’s horse, Royal; and James’s horse, Silver. Yes, every child had their own horse, and often others came through because Mum and Dad were fond of adopting sick or abandoned animals.

Grace loved her family, and she loved her next-door neighbours, a brother and sister named Ben and Jane, whose horses were named Outlaw and Tonto. She adored these early mornings when she could sprint beside the clear running water of the creeks and across the rolling green hills. She loved climbing the jacaranda tree that grew outside her bedroom window, with its vibrant purple flowers and welcoming branches. She loved opening the big double doors to the barn and greeting the horses, who whinnied at her to remind her it was breakfast time.

Those moments passed quickly as the sun crawled up the sky and poured into the windows of the roomy Queenslander house. Grace thought how