An intimate account of the growing friendship between a New York-based psychotherapist and Pirip Kuru, president of the South Wahgi Valley Women's Association in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Spanning thirteen years, Ms. Kuru gradually reveals her history and struggles, a strong-willed character caught in the cross-current of tradition and change -- and facing many of the same issues as the privileged author regarding the environment, "progress," and especially the role of women in society. With photographs and excerpts from exchange of letters between the two women.  (PNG11, $16.00)