Soul Authority is an attempt by author Loraine Van-Tuyl to distill a signature method used in her hypnotherapy practice into an accessible book that readers can use to find their path, connect with their guides, and work with the elements in service of a more aligned life. The delivery is a little messy and meandering, and I found the meditations that are the heart of this practice a little dense for easy use, but the themes of the book are solid and Van-Tuyl brings a unique magic to the language and the content that I found worth it despite an occasionally salesy tone.

Highly sensitive folks are the audience for the book, though with a broader definition than what’s sometimes used—empaths and intuitives of all kinds will likely resonate with the material to some extent. The method isn’t actually introduced until nearly halfway through, which I found a little confusing, but the rest of the book is neatly organized according the a variation of the medicine wheel, giving the reader guidance for applying the Soul Authority framework on their own.

The metaphor at the heart of this practice is an internal greenhouse. In the first section you’re introduced to the concept of a Sacred Ancestral tree, followed by guides representing each of the four elements, and finally the “heart compass” and “true north.” Each section introduces the element or concept with an objective, which I appreciated for grounding into the themes, then gets into discussion of a few relevant topics. You’ll learn about everything from the harms of white supremacy to brain science, steeped in natural metaphor. A handful of client testimonials follow, before a meditation that the reader is encouraged to record and read back to themselves.

In the opening sections I was both excited by the focus on racial justice blended with an honoring of how important self-trust is (something core to my own work) and honestly little confused at first as to what we were actually talking about by Soul Authority—soul purpose work? Energetic boundary setting? Reconnecting to nature to find a sense of intuitive enoughness? It turns out that this approach is a little of all those things. The core of the method isn’t necessarily unique, but the delivery and Van-Tuyl’s storytelling are. Her personal stories blend her frustrations as an adult in the United States with early experiences growing up in the Suriname rainforest, learning from the West African-descended Maroon communities who escaped Dutch plantations in the colonial period as well as her own personal relationships with her environment. The name Soul Authority actually came from a clinical supervisor who gaslit and accused her of authority issues, an experience with which I’m sure many women of color will relate!

I found Van-Tuyl compelling as a guide, and some of how she talks about the elements was illuminating beyond the sources with which I’m already familiar. I get the sense from the book that she’d be an excellent guide in 1-on-1 settings. Unfortunately, the method doesn’t fully translate to book form. It would be ideal if there were a way to purchase pre-recorded audio of the meditations, since they will take the reader quite a lot of time to record, and meditating to one’s own voice can be particularly difficult. The meditation texts include facts and explanations that might be better suited to earlier sections, especially since the idea is to listen to each meditation multiple times, revisiting an earlier “level” as needed. Van-Tuyl’s intuitive genius is evident from the page, but I suspect many readers will have trouble staying with the meandering nature of the structure and would prefer to work with her 1-on-1.

Soul Authority was not at all what I was expecting.. I thought it would be a book on peace, love and self development. Instead I found a book based on differences, political leanings and opinions, and anger at the state of the world. It just wasn't what I was expecting and didn't make my soul leap, so I have only got a third of the way through. Having said that I think it will be the perfect book for many other people, so good luck with it and thank You.