DATE: Sunday, November 9, 1997              TAG: 9711070287

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 11   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

AUTHOR MARIANNE WILLIAMSON TO SPEAK NOV. 16 IN SUFFOLK THE STOP AT TEMPLE BETH-EL IS PART OF A NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTING HER LATEST BOOK.

Marianne Williamson believes that our country's culture today has lost its sense of sacred connection to any power or higher authority.

That's a statement that many Americans would agree with.

And Williamson, a internationally known author with four best sellers to her credit, will be in Suffolk at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16, to talk about her opinions.

The Suffolk visit at Temple Beth-el, on U.S. Route 17, just past the Suffolk/Chesapeake line, is part of a 19-stop lecture and book-signing tour that Williamson started in early September to promote her newest book, ``The Healing of America.''

All three of her other adult books - ``A Return to Love,'' ``A Woman's Worth'' and ``Illuminata'' were No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Williamson, a 45-year-old single mother, also has written a children's book, ``Emma and Mommy Talk to God.'' She wrote that book with her 7-year-old daughter, Emma.

``Illuminata'' is a book of prayers. She has another book of prayers published by Simon & Schuster due to be out in December.

Williamson, said Cheryl LaBrucherie, the author's personal assistant, is ``one of the visionary lights on this planet today.''

Williamson started her literary career when she was working for the Los Angeles Philosophical Society. Her first book was based on ``The Course in Miracles,'' after she started lecturing on the course.

The Course in Miracles, LaBrucherie said, is three books in one, ``It teaches you to look at the world differently, through the eyes of love.''

It is a self-study course in spiritual psychotherapy, she explained.

Williamson writes in the spiritual realm, but her newest book, ``The Healing of America'' is both spiritually and politically based, LaBrucherie said.

``Within the next 10 years, America will experience a renaissance or a catastrophe,'' Williamson says in the book. ``Something is going to happen to take us back to who we are. We have lost our spiritual rudder, and without it, we will have neither individual nor collective wisdom.''

Williamson's Suffolk appearance is sponsored by the Oneness Center for Purposeful Living and Leadership, a non-profit organization serving as a catalyst for positive change. Founded in 1990, the purpose of the organization is to provide opportunities for personal growth ``through a deeper understanding of our human and divine nature,'' officials say.

A portion of the proceeds from Williamson's appearance will benefit the Oneness Community Education Fund.

Tickets for the author's appearance and book signing can be purchased in advance for $20 through any Ticket Master location. Call 671-8100 for locations of ticket centers.

Tickets at the door on Sunday are $25. For more information, call 455-3555.

``It's all about spirituality,'' LaBrucherie said about Williamson's lecture tour. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Williamson

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