Description
Book SynopsisA renowned healer and shaman’s life-changing journey of discovery, healing, and wisdom
“Malidoma has kept faith with the ancestors and with his own heart. His journey is a shimmering ‘missing piece’ in the story of the earth.” —Alice Walker
When he was a young boy growing up in Burkina Faso, Malidoma Somé was taken from his village and brought to a Jesuit mission school, where he spent years being harshly indoctrinated in European ways of thought and worship. In this vivid and paradigm-shifting memoir, Malidoma recounts his journey home—and his initiation into the healing traditions of the Dagara culture, where the natural and supernatural blend together, and every person is encircled by family, community, and the wisdom of ancestors.
By turns humbling, harrowing, magical, and transcendent, Malidoma’s spiritual awakening imparted ancient wisdom that he would spend the rest of his life sharing
Table of ContentsOf Water and the Spirit Introduction
Chapter 1: Slowly Becoming
Chapter 2: A Grandfather's Farewell
Chapter 3: Grandfather's Funeral
Chapter 4: A Sudden Farewell
Chapter 5: In the White Man's World
Chapter 6: Life Begins at Nansi
Chapter 7: The Rebellion Begins
Chapter 8: New Awakenings
Chapter 9: The Long Journey Begins
Chapter 10: The Voyage Home
Chapter 11: Hard Beginnings
Chapter 12: Trying to Fit Back into Village Life
Chapter 13: The Meeting at the Earth Shrine
Chapter 14: My First Night at the Initiation Camp
Chapter 15: Trying to See
Chapter 16: The World of the Fire, the Song of the Stars
Chapter 17: In the Arms of the Green Lady
Chapter 18: Returning to the Source
Chapter 19: Opening the Portal
Chapter 20: Through the Light Hole
Chapter 21: The World at the Bottom of the Pool
Chapter 22: Burials, Lessons, and Journeys
Chapter 23: Journey into the Underworld
Chapter 24: A Mission in the Underworld
Chapter 25: Returning from the Underworld
Chapter 26: Homecoming and Celebration
Epilogue: The Fearful Return
