Join author, activist, and garden expert Maria Rodale as she reflects on her surprising conversations with the spirits of the familiar plants and animals around us—and the knowledge they share with us.

In Love, Nature, Magic, organic advocate and former CEO of a global health and wellness company Maria Rodale combines her love of nature and gardening with her experience in shamanic journeying, embarking on an epic adventure to learn from plants, animals, and insects—including some of the most misunderstood beings in nature. Maria asks them their purpose and listens as they show and declare what they want us humans to know.

From Thistles to Snakes, Poison Ivy to Mosquitoes, these nature beings convey messages that are relevant to every human, showing us how to live in balance and harmony on this Earth. Through journeys filled with surprises, humor, and foibles, follow Maria’s evolution from resenting to accepting—and even falling in love with—our most difficult neighbors (including human ones).

Maria’s journeys include conversations with: Mugwort • Vulture • Bat • Rabbit • Lanternfly • Lightning Bug • Osage Orange • Deer • Paper Wasp • Dandelion • Tick • Groundhog • Milkweed • And more!

Throughout, Maria shares an essential truth that resonates across her shamanic explorations: We first must heal our own hearts, for only then can we truly love others and begin to heal planet Earth.

A Wall Street Journal “Best Read”
Listed on Civil Eats' 2024 Food and Farming Holiday Book Gift Guide
2024 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal Winner: Nature & Animals


“Love, Nature, Magic will blow your mind and open your heart.”—John Grogan, author of Marley & Me

“Anyone interested in plant intelligence, and in journeying WITHOUT plant medicines, will want to read this new book.”—Michael Pollan, author of This is Your Mind on Plants (via X)

“Maria Rodale has written a book for anyone and everyone who loves nature, the garden, and the planet. The book we didn’t know we needed, at the time we needed it most. For comfort, for solace, for the heart and the mind.”—Bette Midler (via X)

“Let’s hear it for women intent on conquering new worlds—especially on the astral plane . . . [This] is a fascinating book . . . Rodale bares her soul. . . This is a journey into her heart.”—Dominique Browning, Wall Street Journal

"I want to learn how everyone can engage with nature in a way that is collaborative rather than combative. I want to know how working with nature can teach us to be better humans."—Maria Rodale in Love, Nature, Magic