Cover Image: Love, Nature, Magic

Love, Nature, Magic

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Member Reviews

NetGalley Review

Interesting read, unique take and layout of writing. The author is the most authentic, well educated and educates her readers. This book may not be for everyone, as it’s a deep intense read at times, but well worth the journey through the pages.

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Thank you Chelsea Green Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review

This book was 100% absolutely delightful as well as incredibly interesting and insightful. Not only that, but it really expands your mind beyond what you believe about what the human mind/body/spirit can do.

You have to go into this book with an open mind. A woman talking about her shamanic journeys where she talks to, for example, a plant, may have you thinking she's a bit off her rocker. But keep your mind open and let yourself believe and listen. Honestly, I found it unbelievably interesting and amazing how this author learned so much and experienced so much more than most of us could even conceive of.

I learned a ton about plants, insects, humans, the environment, how we interact, and had my definitions of what's good/bad challenged (when it comes to plants and animals).

I have no complaints. This was fabulous.

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I enjoyed this book immensely. As a gardener and a lover of nature I felt a connection to her experiences. She shares her own shamanic journeys and getting to know various plays, animals and insects. She shows reverence for natures intelligence and how we are all connected in the web of life, a great read!

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OK, I've subscribed to Prevention magazine for decades, and was mildly curious about a book written bye the granddaughter of the man who started the business, so I chose to read this book strictly because of the author. Ms. Rodale brings the reader with her on a series of shamanic journeys during the pandemic that revealed and cemented her relationship with nature. I felt some of the shamanic journeys were a bit too woo-woo for me, although I certainly respect animal and plant intelligence and heartily agree with many of the author's conclusions about what humans are doing to our home planet.

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This book was pure magic. I just started my own garden and it was such a joy to read alongside my own personal journey to deepening my relationship with nature. I love the ties she makes while describing your own relationship with yourself to that of loving nature. A must read!

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Love, Nature, Magic: Shamanic Journeys into the Heart of My Garden by Maria Rodale was such a beautiful read. I am starting my garden this year and I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

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Love, Nature and Magic
3 Stars

I'm interested in gardening and nature. So, I picked this book on a whim. Love, Nature, and Magic synopsis seemed interesting enough. However, it wasn't quite what I expected, or had in mind. I found myself confused and frustrated. Who is she talking to? What's going on? This wasn't a good fit for me, but I don't regret reading it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Chelsea Green Publishing, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.

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When starting this book, I had so many questions on who Maria was talking to. Then I began to understand. When conversing with nature, you must know yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Then and only then can you be one with the natural force and Shamanic way.

Being with nature and having the many rewards is what all of her book is about. It’s enlightening and inspiring if you really want to learn a new way of appreciating what you have in front of you.

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The last name Rodale was familiar to me as the publisher of Rodale's Organic Life Magazine, and I'm interested in organic gardening. Netgalley kindly allowed me to download a copy of Maria Rodale's new book, Love, Nature, Magic, but it wasn't quite what I expected. Some of her imagined conversations with things like vultures, ticks, and mugworts didn't work for me.

However, I think her book will strike a chord with many readers who love and want to protect nature and our planet.

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This was a wonderful collection of stories that warmed my heart. I have never wanted to disconnect from technology more in search of Nature.

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Love, Nature, Magic by Maria Rodale is not only about the love of nature. It’s about how Maria can have a conversation with herself and nature. How things in her life truly cherish these moments through gardening, the outdoors and even insects. She allowed herself to understand the point of nature, even from the past memories she had.

Thanks to both Chelsea Green Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

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Maria Rodale is an important figure in holistic health and living as an author and publisher. This book is a mixture of memoir and her observations into the natural world. In this book she takes imaginative “journeys” with plants and animals to learn about each of them and herself.
If you enjoy nature and memoirs, then this would be an excellent book to add to your library,
I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Nature combined with spirituality is the direction of this book. I found it to be very comprehensive and was an interesting journey to go on. The history of shamanism was briefly touched upon, despite much of the history being lost. I enjoyed the storytelling nature of this book and all the information it contained. I found it quite enlightening.

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In this book, Maria Rodale of the famous Rodale family, communicates with nature on her shamanic journeys, learning about the needs and desires of various types of plants, animals, insects, and weather. Shamanic journeying is an ancient spiritual practice that allows one to travel to the spirit realm in a deep meditation or trance. Maria shares the conversations she had with different aspects of nature, and how their insights and wisdom were able to shift her perspective on what living in harmony with nature is truly about.

I thought this was a brave and inspiring story to share with the world that bridged together ecology with spirituality. Some conversations were uplifting while others were a little strange. The message of each plant, insect, and animal was the same. We humans must learn how to love because the harm we are inflicting upon nature is a result of the lack of love present in humanity. This is how we can heal nature because her wisdom is one of regeneration, reciprocity, trust, gratitude, and happiness. When we can learn to respect and honour the earth for everything that she does both seen and unseen, we can learn how to live with her. What may seem like a nuisance or inconvenience in nature, might actually be a survival method to ensure balance and harmony. This is magic. This is healing, This is love.

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