Audiobook Review: Plastic Shaman
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In October 2009, more than fifty people attended a $10,000-per-person wellness retreat led by a celebrity self-help guru. For these enlightenment seekers, their time in Sedona, Arizona, culminated in a fake Native American sweat lodge ceremony. Three of them would not make it out alive. This tragedy exposes the dangerous truth about the booming $2 trillion wellness industry where promises of spiritual awakening and financial success often mask dangerous practices underpinned by cultural appropriation and commodification of nature. Journalist Annette McGivney explores this world, exposing the manipulation and greed that allow charismatic influencers to prey on vulnerable people in search of happiness and healing—no matter the cost.
My Review
Wow. This book is amazing. I found myself both enlightened and fascinated at the same time. I have not been this fully invested in a story in a long time. You could tell that Annette really did her through research and took very care and consideration into the conversations she had with people and the Native Americans.
I don't recall hearing James Arthur Ray name or the tragic sweat lodge incident. Although, I do remember hearing and following the news on the Dakota Access pipeline protest. As I was listening to the audiobook, I have to say that I felt anger and sadness. Anger for the way that James stole an honored tradition and made it into something that he could profit from and lives were lost. Sadness for the fact that families were broken and the treatment that the Native Americans have suffered.
I highly recommend listening to the ALC version of this book. Performed in solo narration by Katherine Littrell.
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