Dingle Folk Tales

     Dingle Folk Tales, by Luke Eastwood spotlights a small area in the Southwest of Ireland known as the Dingle Peninsula. West of Tralee, it juts out to claim the Westernmost point of the Island and it boasts many forts, settlements and standing stones with ties to the region's ancient past.

     Mr Eastwood weaves a rich mosaic of Tales that not only touch on the antiquity of this place, but include accounts running up to the very recent past. One moment you will be reading a tale of fairies, leprechauns or witches drawn from the rich oral traditions, then you will turn the page to read the story of Fungie the dolphin, who was a famous resident of Dingle harbor from 1983 until 2020.

     The back and forth time travel these stories take the reader on begin to relate a sense of the spirit of Dingle itself and those who live there. This spirit of place has even moved the filmmakers of 'Ryan's Daughter' and 'Star Wars VII, VIII and IX' to film there!

     Mr Eastwood draws from a wide range of sources, including traditional oral accounts that have a number of versions, where he settles on a telling that reflects the most local flavor. He also draws from modern translations of historical accounts and tales of epic battles. For the stories that take place in more recent times, his modern sources include interviews with residents and first hand accounts.

     The illustrations of Elena Danaan and Bob O' Cathail give a touch of life to some of the stories and the variety of content is mixed in a way that keeps things fresh and interesting.

     … its themes of magic and ties to ancient cultures are topics that are of interest to many … not to mention those of us with a fondness for the Emerald Isle itself!

Reviews

A review of your book is an important way to find an audience.

Having a review to offer to magazines, newspapers or websites can interest readers in your work. Having one prepared before you go to publication also allows you to print excerpts of your review inside or on the back cover of your book. Below are some of the published reviews that I’ve written.

Swimming in the Sacred

     Swimming in the Sacred, by Rachel Harris, PhD is a look into the underground  world of the medicine women who guide and support people who use entheogens as part of their spiritual and emotional healing paths.

     The field of work and research with psychoactive compounds, both natural and manufactured has been greatly suppressed in recent decades, but is now once again beginning to enter the mainstream. During the long dark night of its prohibition, a number of people have operated below the radar to provide a safe space for others to work with these powerful medicines, often risking their safety and freedom in order to do so. Many of these people are women and this book tells some of their stories.

     Dr Harris shares the stories of fifteen medicine women and the varied ways they arrived on their paths as guides, the diverse training they received and how they serve an important role in the continuity of a healing lineage. 

     Although this book's primary intent is to spotlight the contributions and experiences of the women who are so often overlooked in this work, (only women were personally interviewed), it includes a deep background on both the traditional and contemporary work done by healers and researchers over the years regardless of gender.

     An important distinction between the women featured in this book and the “..newly hatched psychedelic therapists”, is how they are trained. These women have in most cases served a long apprenticeship with an established teacher and have extensive personal experience working with the medicines themselves. They have adopted their own code of ethics developed over time based on the collective experience of those with long experience in this work.

     Topics covered in this book also include the methodology of guiding, understanding the importance of ego-dissolution to fundamental change, how fear and past trauma play a role in an individual's experience and how recognizing the spiritual nature of all things is essential. Whether you have experience working with entheogens or not, there is a lot of fascinating reading here.

Danny’s Day in Heaven

     Danny’s Day in Heaven, by Marie Antoinette Kelly is a wonderfully illustrated children's book on a theme unusual in that genre, the Near Death Experience, (NDE).

     Told in language accessible to young readers, it relates the NDE of Danny, an antisocial bully who drowns while surfing at the beach and is drawn toward a tunnel of light, which leads him into a spiritual experience that ultimately shifts his outlook on life.

     Although the story is fictional, it is inspired by the life and experiences of Dannion Brinkley, author of Saved by the Light, and this tale is a faithful recounting of his transformation from a self absorbed ruffian devoid of sympathy for others into a compassionate spiritual being, forever connected to this life changing experience. Mr Brinkley also contributed an Afterword following the story.

     The author's motivation for writing this book was twofold. As a child, she remembers being frightened of death and this fear followed her into her adulthood until she was exposed to the work of Mr Brinkley and his message. As a mother of three, she wanted to make this message of love, hope and transformation available to young people as well. By recounting Danny’s story as a NDE of a child, she makes the concept of our true nature as spiritual beings accessible to young readers.

     This book is a great choice for your family library.

Celtic Druidry

     Celtic Druidry, by Ellen Evert Hopman is both an informative introduction to Celtic Druidry and a guide to practice for those new to the path. 

     The book is divided into three parts. The first is an introduction that covers the history, beliefs and practices of Celtic Druids as well as the ties to its proto Indo-European roots. The second part focuses on the practical aspects of Druidic practice, including sections on tools, rituals, charms, meditations and a fairly extensive section on plants and trees. The third part contains two chapters contributed by fellow Druids Peter J. Quandt and  Kenneth Proefrock, NMD, who also wrote the foreword.

     This guide draws from the scholarly work of many researchers and historians, as well as the author's own decades long experience as a practicing Druid herself. It is written in a clear manner and cites many references that the reader can investigate for further inquiry. There is also a thorough description of the many deities in Celtic Druidry, their significance and their likely ties to earlier  proto Indo-European deities, some of whom had the same or similar names and attributes.

     There are also selections of sacred verse throughout the text. As verse was used as a way for ancient Druids to commit important information to memory, history, laws, spells and adages were often handed down this way and the author uses this method to good effect to support each subject.

     You will also find a description of the major festivals observed by Celtic Druids, their meanings and purposes and how they have survived into this day. This understanding of the past informs and gives meaning to the practice of Celtic Druidry today, which seemed to this reader to be the driving force behind the author's purpose for writing this book.

     In summary, this is a very readable and informative book for anyone interested in Celtic Druidry as practiced today, together with its ties to the past.

'Thoughts in the Mind of God', by Ellen Winner

Thoughts in the Mind of God, by Ellen Winner, is a memoir of the author's own spiritual journey presented in a starkly honest and deeply personal way.

The narrative opens as she is just beginning her in-depth study of Himalayan Shamanism as practiced in rural Nepal. She begins this study with Mohan Rai, a Nepali businessman and son of a Bhutanese shaman, who arranges mentorships with first Jebi Bhandari and later Maile Lama, both of whom would play important roles in Ellen'seventual initiation as a shaman.

Throughout the book, Ellen recalls significant events from her past that led her from the wonders and trials of childhood, through scientific agnosticism and into her own epiphany, experiencing a clear awareness of a collective consciousness that spurred her search for her own spiritual path. She spares no detail on how difficult and disappointing this path can be at times, sharing both her doubts and her triumphs in a way that reflects real life, with no sugar coating.

The settings change from the United States to Nepal and back as Ellen both visits and hosts her teachers, sharing not only their teachings, but aspects of their humanity and everyday lives. Both the teachings and the personal lives are at times deeply complicated, giving rise to some eloquent introspections that become an important part of Ellen's learning.

This story takes us past many of Ellen's personal milestones, from childhood through motherhood, career, marriages and friendships, to a place of confident awareness of self. It is also a story told with humility and grace. Although this is a stand alone book, the story is continued in her second book World Shaman, which partly focuses on the life of Mohan Rai. Her books are available through Barnes and Noble and other online booksellers.

Retired from her career as a US Patent Attorney, Ellen is a former faculty member for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She continues her shamanic work today by teaching her own growing curriculum of shamanic courses online and by hosting a monthly online drumming circle. She lives in Boulder Colorado and you can visit her website at WorldShaman.org

Belonging to the Earth

     Belonging to the Earth, by Julie Brett is a collection of reflections, reminiscences and conversations shared with the reader as she relates her journey of exploring how to reconcile her Druidic beliefs and customs with the indigenous beliefs and customs of her adopted home in Australia. 

     Although the concept of ‘belonging to the Earth’ is a common one among indigenous cultures, a deeper look into just how this is expressed by her Aboriginal neighbors plays an important role in the author's desire to honor both their ways and those of her ancestors.

     A number of conversations with Aboriginal elders, or ‘Uncles’ and ‘Aunties’, give voice to the stewards of this land and the issues important to them. They make it clear that it is not only important to address environmental issues, but also to return to traditional ways of living. In the words of Uncle Bruce, “That’s how we survived for eighty plus thousands of years. We had a system in place that was given to us by the Great Creator since the beginning of time, so I think that’s how we live sustainably with our environment.” 

     These conversations are held against a backdrop of environmental upheavals such as uncontrolled wildfires and flooding, made worse by global climate change, a direct result of humankind's falling out of balance with the Earth. The response is to bring gifts of beauty to an injured landscape, to perform ceremonies and acts of creation, to come back into harmony. In the words of the author, “This is how we respond to a world in crisis because this is how we should always respond to the Earth - as a part of her, responsible for her, and to her, grateful for all she gives us in return.”

     Julie Brett is also author of Australian Druidry: Connecting with the Sacred Landscape. She also founded the online networking group, Druids Down Under, which you can access through her website at: www.julieBrett.net