Women's spiritual history is sparse and most often recorded by men. This ethnographic study is based on in-depth interviews with nine elderly Breton women. Combining their experiences with research in archeology, mythology, and folklore, Valerie examines contemporary Breton spiritual history and the influence upon it of an enduring deified feminine force - once called Goddess, Creator and Destroyer, now called Anne, Holy Grandmother, patron of Brittany. Today, Anne's revered position is waning, as are the power and status of the Breton women, particularly elder women. This collaborative inquiry broke a pattern of isolation, suspicion, and loss of purpose exhibited by several of the women interviewed and has the far reaching potential for social action and improving the condition of elder women.

Ph.D. Dissertation, November 1998

Valerie Kack-Brice, a clinical social worker in private practice specializing in childhood wounds and their impact on adult functioning and spiritual crises, also writes poetry and is a pastel artist. Publications to date include: The Emotion Handbook: for the Recovery and Management of Feelings and For She is the Tree of Life: Grandmothers Through the Eyes of Women Writers. Two more books await publication. Further research will take her to Canada and North Africa to study the influence of Sainte Anne on women's spiritual and revolutionary activities.