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www.shamansociety.org 39 MAKING PEACE WITH SUICIDE by Adele McDowell Making Peace with Suicide A Book of Hope Understanding and Comfort by Adele Ryan McDowell PhD treats this ever painful subject with compassion insightful reflections and val- ues important to shamanic practitioners. McDowell digs deeply into the history and worldwide views of suicide in its various forms. From this study she derives the three common elements of suicide pain disconnection and disenfranchisement. She notes All three elements...take us to shut-down closed-off places that lead to inactivity inertia passivity and powerless- ness. And so we feel stuck. McDowells excellent book is an indispensable compan- ion for anyone dealing with the suicide of friends family or acquaintances. The chapter What Leads to Suicide includes ancestral considerations the family tree addictions bullying lost relationships shame soul loss and spiritual crises all topics that shamanic practitioners deal with on many levels. She also considers special cases such as teenage military maternal sui- cide and suicide as a conscious end-of-life choice an impor- tant aspect of death dying and psychopomp work. Her chapter Tales from the Front Lines contains vital first-person accounts from suicide survivors. Most important from a shamanic point-of-view is a chapter on suicide and the soul which presents an expanded perspec- tive on these topics. Here readers will find discussions of death the afterlife reincarnation soul contracts messages from the other side and the death of the ego. This last topic McDowell presents as both psychological and spiritual. The former is sui- cide which results from unrelenting pain depression heartbreak loneliness etc. The latter is a souls choice a willingness to drop the ego and choose suicide for a higher good to do work from the Other Side in service for humanity. As a therapist minister and shamanic practitioner Mc- Dowell brings a wealth of insight from many angles to this painful and disturbing topic. In addition to her own wisdom she includes an appendix of resources for readers who want to read further about these many topics and issues. This book is a wonderful addition to the literature about suicide. TC WHISPERING WITH ANIMALS by Maryphyllis Horn Maryphyllis Horn writes a deeply personal spirited and accessible accounting of her communication with members of the animal bird insect and plant kingdoms. Her stories of the messages and wisdom that come from turtles horses dogs cats deer birds squirrels insects and trees are simple sweet and direct. I also found her drawings of dog and cat companions and photos of her friends in the wild a won- derful visual complement to the stories. Horn introduces the book with a thoughtful and instructive description of what motivated her after a lifetime of intuitive and telepathic exchanges with tame and wild creatures to share her experiences in this quick and enjoyable read. Horn makes the point quite well that harmony and balance between humans and members of the other kingdoms with whom we share the planet is greatly enhanced by our ability to learn the language of those kingdoms. Each one communicates differently and is communicating all the time. Through her experiences she gives us pointers on how to silently send and receive messages from our animal companions at home and with creatures in the wild. Although there are many good books out there about this subject I have found some of them to unfortunately be somewhat preachy. This one is not. Much to my appreciation Horn takes you with her on her encounters in a way that inspires the same wonder and curiosity that she herself is experiencing. After each encounter she includes helpful insights and reflections about what she learned which I found particularly useful for anyone wanting to delve into the subtle world of inter-species communication. KK S H O R T R E V I E W WhisperingWithAnimalsMaryphyllisHorn