Winner of the 2016 Nautilus Award (Gold Medal – Multicultural/Indigenous) and 2016 Bookvana Award (Multicultural/Non-Fiction)

A fascinating adventure into the world of healing, shamanism, plant medicine, and divination, Talking Story documents author Marie-Rose Phan-Lê's worldwide journey to find healing and truth from authentic mystics and shamans, while recording their disappearing traditions and discovering her own gift as a healer. Facing a crisis of faith after a profound betrayal by her New Age spiritual teacher, Phan-Lê is set on a path toward the exploration of the Old World. Learning that many indigenous cultures were on the verge of losing their medicinal plants, healing traditions, and spiritual knowledge as a result of habitat destruction, cultural assimilation, and globalization, she travels the globe, meeting with healers and shamans and documenting their practices.

Describing each exciting leg of her journey, Phan-Lê embarks on a life-changing odyssey that takes her to remote corners of the globe including Eastern Peru, Hawaii, Nepal, India, Vietnam, and China. In the midst of her exploration, she begins to connect with her own healing roots, following in the footsteps of her aunt who in Vietnam had been a healer. Once back in the U.S., Phan-Lê's spiritual development continues and she decides to use media as medicine and to be a medium for healing. This book is part of a greater cross-platform of spiritual media that includes Phan-Lê's accompanying award-winning feature-length documentary film Talking Story and her nonprofit organization Healing Planet Project that is dedicated to the preservation and presentation of healing and spiritual traditions through media.