Remains Unknown: The Final Journey of a Human Spirit
by Michael J. Caduto, Illustrated by Adelaide Tyrol
Hardcover
Images from the Past, Bennington, Vermont, 1999.
70 pages, 5.5 x 7.25, evocative illustrations.
He somehow found his way to Vermont soon after the Mexican War. It was a long journey; the beginning of a private purgatory that lasted over 150 years. At last, with the help of friends he’d never met, he took the final steps in a quiet cemetery by the river on a sultry afternoon. In this strange and haunting tale the reader enters a world suspended between our earthly existence and the realm of the human spirit. A small community of people, with a sense of dignity and compassion, embarks on an adventure that compels them to bring the mysterious remains of one long dead to a resting place of peace and grace. This true story draws from two distinct spiritual traditions and is inspired by a dose of healing humor in the face of grief.
• Caduto’s latest gem...this tale speaks volumes to us of the soul-gaps left in us by a “purely scientific” approach to the mystery of human life. It brings us back to old spiritual questions and longings that the glitzy new religion of science cannot answer or satisfy. I was moved to tears. — The Times Argus
• “This magical book bridges the contemporary and the historic worlds, along with the spirit world beyond our understanding of time and space...a well-crafted jewel of a story .” — E. Barrie Kavasch, author/illustrator of American Indian Healing Arts and Founder, Native American Spirituality Circle.
• “Remains Unknown fuses body and spirit, showing how a history of disrespect on the material plane creates a soul in pain. Michael Caduto gently and wisely reveals our need and our duty to help each other heal—whether we are friends and neighbors or strangers separated by seeming chasms of time and circumstance. It is a haunting, yet joyous tale, one that lingers long in the mind.” — Professor Philip Deloria, Department of History, University of Colorado, Boulder
• “This little story clarifies a big issue; it reminds us that repatriation of human remains is, after all, a question of human respect.” — Colin Calloway, author and Chair, Native American Studies Center at Dartmouth College.