Space Between the Stars

My Journey to an Open Heart

By: Deborah Santana

Narrated by: Carrington Macduffie

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

Deborah Santana is best known for her marriage to music icon Carlos Santana - a 30-year bond that endures to this day. But as a girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1960s, daughter of a White mother and a Black father - the legendary blues guitarist Saunders King - her life was charged with its own drama long before she married.

In this beautiful, haunting memoir, Deborah Santana shares for the first time her early experiences with racial intolerance, her romantic involvement with musician Sly Stone and the suffering she endured in that relationship, and her adventures in the freewheeling 1960s. Yet it is her spiritual awakening that is the core of this story. The civil rights movement was the foundation of her growth, the Woodstock era the backdrop of her love with Carlos. The couple was drawn indelibly together by a search for truth and spirituality, but while yearning to be filled with God’s light, they were pulled dangerously toward a manipulative cult. They eventually disengage themselves from the guru and reclaim control of their lives, putting their love for each other before the cult’s increasingly strenuous demands.

Space Between the Stars is a moving account of self-discovery, rendered in raw, beautiful prose, by a woman whose heart has remained pure even in times of despair. As Deborah Santana talks frankly about her lifelong fight against racial injustice and her deep-seated loyalty to her family, ultimately it is the struggle to remain a spiritual and artistic force in her own right, in the shadow of one of the world’s most revered musicians, that shines through as her most indomitable pursuit.

©2005 Cadestansa, LLC (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Santana could've easily produced a thin tale of gossip and name-dropping in the pop music life. Instead, she has written a balanced, open memoir of a life that hasn't been without its missteps." (Publishers Weekly)

“With the candor and vulnerability of one whose search for truth far outweighs any need for subterfuge, [Santana] writes of her husband, her friends, and her family, not as if unaware of their famous names, but as one more impressed with the quality of their souls. This lovely, loving book will make any woman who survived the sixties smile and shake her head in recognition, and give any man with the good sense to read it an unforgettable glimpse into the heart of a woman.” (Pearl Cleage, author of Babylon Sisters)

“I couldn’t put this book down. Beautifully written, full of fine detail, it breaks illusions about gurus, rock stars, and stereotypes about race. This is a dynamic memoir of an extraordinary woman’s life.” (Natalie Goldberg, author of The Great Failure and Writing Down the Bones)

Who is Deb King?

I'm glad she put her married last name on the book, otherwise, I would have never known who she is. It's a very good book for the first 80% of her life, which was pretty fascinating given her relationships with Sly and Carlos. It was also interesting to hear how involved she was in a cult, cult-related business ventures, and later business ventures arising out of her husband's work. It's a shame that she never found her own way or her own path to fully develop as a stand-alone person separate from her relationships. Sadly, she hasn't done anything remarkable since splitting with Carlos.

The music at the end of the audiobook was amazing, but of course, that cannot be credited to the author, but instead comes from other people with whom she has a relationship.

The interview at the end was awkward, forced, and trivial. The first question and answer was embarrassing and underscored the author's lack of substance apart from the people around her. In it, she claimed she was qualified to write because she'd written letters to people. (Not a spoiler, because not part of the book.)

Space Between the Stars

An amazing book. She paints pictures with her words which take form in your mind. A wonderful journey. Wow.

Thank you Deborah

A wonderful story wonderfully told. When I listened to this audiobook I felt as though I was along on a journey, spanning from the 50's to the present. For those of us who grew up during that time and who expericened and enjoyed the music it is a particularly significant. Deborah Santana is a brilliant writer. Her spirituality, candor and frankness are very touching. Again we are reminded that 'behind every great man"...
I truly enjoyed this book.

She lived/lives with grace and intention.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes and I will read/listen to it again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Space Between the Stars?

Deborah is present for the audience every step of the way she takes us on her journey with raw honesty. She is an artist who paints with words and there is no holding back. As she stated...She found her voice...Word-up Sister-girl!

What does Carrington Macduffie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well Audio-books are my new addiction and I appreciate the narrators ability to engage the listener with the appropriate accents. It brings the listener to live in the moment with the authors intention of sharing her experience.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, I was married for 15 years to a former member of the Santana Band. A Bass Guitar player who was actually on tour with Wayne Shorter when flight 800 went down taking off from JFK. I was supposed to be on that flight to Niece. I had a ticket for flight 800 to fly over with Ana Maria Shorter and join our husbands but I had just accepted a position as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Supervisor in Los Angeles Juvenile Dependency Court. It was during the first 30 days of my probationary period and I was concerned to not present as frivolous in my commitment or unprofessional. So-- I cancelled my seat/ticket on flight 800.

Deborah Santana was very kind to me the few times that I saw her back stage when my ex- husband worked with Carlos. I am Mexican-American/Chicano I was raised in San Diego, CA. I am a child of the sixties and the sound track of my life experience is most definitely Rock and Roll. The socio-political backdrop for women of color in my generation was epic and for the fact that lightening never strikes in the same place twice---you might say we can be grateful. I married a Black Man in 1984. A Musician - a Jazz/Fusion/Rock --a master. So much in Deborah's experience spoke to my own story. Carlos Santana's soulful mastery burst on to the world of Rock and he asserted his mark...como Mexicano no pidio permiso!
Ya llego. ..."Badges? we don need no stinking badges!" Hmm like "A si soy yo....Y Que?
Y QUE? And we came with him all of us primos, primas, Homies, Whenever I was near Carlos during the period that my ex-husband was part of the Santana organization...I wanted to thank him. Of course I was a bumbling idiot. I wanted to express my gratitude because we were his family. A si somos los Chicanos---and he brought us all with him.


And the truth is that Deborah it is you. You are the Guru. Not bad for a girl with skinny legs!

Any additional comments?

Carlos and Deborah knew the enormity of their destiny, Deborah knew the enormity of her destiny she and Carlos made the attempt to expand the Channel by way of the Guru. Mira que Lindo, they tried to deflect the responsibility ---sublimation? No...it's not me...I am just a disciple...I'm just a roadie--a guitar tech...it's the fancy fluffy guy over there---THE GURU. No Deborah it is you. You are the beacon I am so happy you found your voice-- Deborah. I look forward to reading more from you. You are enormous talent, a prolific writer, You are by nature a humble soul and by every definition grace in motion! Thank you.

Excellent.

Very good memoir.