Crossing into Medicine Country: A Journey in Native American Healing [Hardcover]

David Carson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2005

From the coauthor of the million-copy bestselling Medicine Cards comes this riveting account of initiation into ancient wisdom and the healing power of a Native American shaman.Of Choctaw descent, David Carson has absorbed and sought out Native American spiritual knowledge since growing up in Oklahoma Indian country. He distilled some of that knowledge in Medicine Cards, the hugely successful divination system based on traditional animal medicine that became a New Age bestseller in the 1990s. Now, in CROSSING INTO MEDICINE COUNTRY, he tells the story of his initiation as a conjure man-a ceremonial healer-with the Choctaw medicine woman Mary Gardener. For three years, he studied the arts of power plants and medicine animals, how to manipulate the layers of energy surrounding human beings, and how to use sacred tobacco in ritual, curing, and divination. Through Mary+s teachings, often conveyed in folk tales of the primordial healer Yellow Tobacco Boy, and through his own, sometimes mind-bending experiences, he gives us a glimpse into an alternate reality, in which health and illness express the balance between man and nature, and Western notions of physics do not always apply. A fascinating personal narrative, here is a work rich in spirit and Native American lore that will appeal to anyone interested in alternative beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Carson is one of the world’s most influential graphic designers, known particularly for his inventive use of typography. He was the art director of Ray Gun magazine and has made several books, including The End of Print. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; First Edition edition (November 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559707712
• ISBN-13: 978-1559707718
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Storytelling!, December 7, 2005

By 

Judy Anderson (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing into Medicine Country: A Journey in Native American Healing (Hardcover)

David, Thanks for sharing your gift of Storytelling!!

The entire book was incredibly mesmerizing -- couldn't put it down. The experiences Mr. Carson writes about with his teacher Mary Gardener are quite an adventure and very thought provoking. This book helped validate for me that there is so much more beyond this 3-D world we live in and to trust and accept what we see and feel in all of our experiences.

Mr. Carson speaks to bringing back our awareness to living in

harmony with the natural world and in so doing to see and feel the sacredness in all life. Maybe in reading this book more people will be able see the separateness we as a whole have created from nature and how being at One with all of life brings forth healing on all levels-- individually and for our dear Mother Earth.

This book really inspired me and touched my heart on so many levels. Great stuff!!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crossing Into Medicine Country, October 12, 2005

By 

Najah Lightfoot Bagley (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossing into Medicine Country: A Journey in Native American Healing (Hardcover)

David Carson has done an excellent job of sharing the life of an apprentice, and the experiences that come with earning the title of "Shaman". This book is a treasure, a deep walk with Spirit. David shares his knowledge and experiences in such a way that I too felt I was on the journey. I highly recommend this book to the serious student, and to the curious beginner. A masterpiece. Couldn't put it down. It will hold a sacred place in my library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect much, March 20, 2009

By 

Zoeeagleeye (Belfast, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crossing into Medicine Country: A Journey in Native American Healing (Paperback)

Having read everything I could get my hands on in this genre I bought this book with high expectations. In my professional opinion as a writer, editor and shamanic practitioner, I'm sorry to say that I found David Carson to be a poor writer, a poor storyteller and not the man Mary Gardener deserved to write her story. The only words I found worth keeping were Mary's. I'd suggest reading the book for her alone.

As the book is written, David doesn't seem to know or live what he is talking about. He behaved disrespectfully to Mary the whole time he was with her which was only a few short years. Mary has disappeared from David's life and has not left a trail for him to follow. I say these things based only on David's own words. He may well have left much out. Too bad if he did. I would like to know if he had permission from Mary to write about her.

The stories about Yellow Tobacco Boy/Girl are valid and interesting, although most of them are not explained. Diseases are touched upon briefly, almost in the nature of a short catalogue, with no real way to understand or heal them. The writing style is vague and events opaque.

This book is a tiny fragment of Choctaw medicine ways. As such, it is valuable as a mini-history. As for Mary, she stands at the pinnacle of similar high achieving worthies in mysticism and medicine wisdom. I bow my head.