Welcome to My New Journey

(Where I Learn How Not to be Annoyed)

Back in my old magazine days (as publisher of Prevention, Men’s Health and Women’s Health) January was all about “new year new you!” where we told you how to lose weight, get back in shape and stay young forever. Now I say: Fuck that! I love my sexy curvy body with my Buddha belly. My few remaining bad habits are welcome to stay as long as they want. Getting older and the freedom it brings is awesome! And the worry about what other people might expect from me is gone.

However, the feeling of new beginnings that occur this time of year – between the winter solstice, the calendar New Year and the Chinese lunar New Year is a time ripe with possibilities and potential joy. And for me, this year, that includes the release of my new book on February 21st—Love Nature Magic, Shamanic Journeys into the Heart of my Garden.

It feels like coming out of the closet somehow. Not sexually, except that every year I feel more like a they/them. But as a weird and unusual shamanic journeyer who speaks with nature beings and has finally figured out how not to be annoyed by all sorts of things – from weeds to bugs to republicans. The original subtitle of my book was something like How to Understand the Things in Nature that Annoy Us. But my publisher and most wonderful editor over-ruled it.

How I found my most wonderful editor is a story of magic in itself.  For four years I wrote a book on love that no one wanted to publish. The rejection stung, of course. But rather than give up, I practiced listening to my inner voice. Meditated. Continued doing shamanic journeying (which I had been doing for the past decade). Took a memoir writing course. I even (gasp!) tried micro-dosing. A new book idea started taking shape in my mind – an original concept that combined my love of gardening with shamanic journeys to talk to all the annoying things in my garden – the weeds, the bugs, the rabbits. After writing a chapter or two, the name Chelsea Green kept whispering in my head. Chelsea Green is one of the last small independent publishers who specialize in nature and farming books. They would be familiar with me and my work. I went to the website and there she was…

FERN! For many years before she was at Chelsea Green Fern Marshall Bradley was a long-time garden book editor and writer at Rodale Inc. In fact, one of her earliest jobs was editing the revised edition of Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening and Farming. But that’s not why I was happy to see her face. She is one of those people who just shines with quiet, peaceful intelligence. I knew right away that she could help me bring my book to life. But first, we had to see if she was open to my crazy idea. When I reached out to her, she admitted it sounded crazy. But then she read my first few chapters and really liked them. Then she started talking to the Chelsea Green team about it. Soon we had a book deal and I was in my happy place – writing, creating and feeling the excitement and joy of making something totally different and new. Her editing was so gentle, wise and collaborative. We had thoughtful debates about cursing (we left a few words in). We started feeling the magic together. In fact, after the book went to press, we had a number of emails over the recent scientific finding that snakes have TWO clitorises! I wish that could have gotten that into my chapter on snakes but alas, it didn’t. A good editor is a blessing, and Fern (yes, her name is perfect for a book on nature) is one of them.

As the publication date approaches, I am getting more and more excited (and less afraid). Early reviews are good! Amazing people have given me wonderful quotes (we call them “blurbs” in the business). I got to read the audio book version myself and it was fun. I even sang! (That’s in the Fungus Among Us chapter at the end).

Most importantly, I now finally feel like my true self. I’ve always been a secret spiritual seeker and journeyer – even long before discovering shamanic journeying. But that side of me stayed hidden most of the time – although it sure came in handy trying to manage a large global business going through good times and bad. As I say in my book, I am not a shaman and have no intention of becoming one. I have zero desire to be some sort of guru. I’m not going to take any sort of advertising or sell you magic pills. My practices will stay private and solitary. However, I have learned stuff and want to share it, and have discovered things that have the potential to re-arrange our thinking about things – about nature and humans. My lifetime of experiences and research have come in handy to tell a new kind of story. Plus, I had heaps of fun. And hope you do too when you read it.

Happy New Year!