{"title":"Lammastide","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"from-mountains-to-medicine-scaling-the-heights-in-search-of-my-calling","title":"From Mountains to Medicine: Scaling the Heights in Search of My Calling","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA memoir so gripping, one reader said: I forgot I was reading a book.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of Erica Elliott's magical, mind-bending, and\u003cbr\u003eheart-opening journey of self-discovery in search of her life's purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA courageous woman with insatiable curiosity, Elliott shares her compelling story with\u003cbr\u003edisarming honesty. From the very first page she draws the reader into her narrative as\u003cbr\u003eshe threads her way through the turbulent early years of her life, overcoming daunting\u003cbr\u003echallenges that would stop most people in their tracks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer guiding star is her search for meaning and purpose, a search that leads her to some spellbinding adventures, including perilous climbs of daunting peaks in the Andes of South America, one of which was subsequently named after her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElliott's writing is intimate, intoxicating, and full of wisdom. I found myself laughing out loud, holding my breath, opening my eyes wide in shock, and I imagine you will too. It is much more than a memoir. It is so engrossing I forgot I was reading a book, and I look forward to the day when it is made into a movie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately, Elliott's wise heart leads her home to discover what was there all along, her destiny to be a healer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book for anyone who has ever searched for their true calling, pushed beyond\u003cbr\u003etheir limits, and refused to stop until they found their purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBook 2 in the Erica Elliott Memoir Trilogy. Preceded by \u003cem\u003eMedicine and Miracles in the\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eHigh Desert\u003c\/em\u003e and followed by \u003cem\u003eFrom Doctor to Healer\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you have ever wondered what you were truly meant to do with your life, this is the book that will make you believe the answer is still waiting for you.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErica Elliott\u003c\/strong\u003e was born into a large family with a Swiss mother and an American father. Throughout her childhood, Erica moved with her family from one part of the world to another due to her father's work. Her grade schooling began in England and ended in Germany where she graduated from high school. The following summer, she pursued her interests in the arts Florence, Italy, before returning to the States to attend college.\u003cbr\u003eThe seeds for becoming a medical doctor were first sown when she spent a summer in Switzerland learning from her uncle, an eccentric and brilliant medical doctor. It took many years before those seeds sprouted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eErica came to medicine later than most medical students, after pursuing other careers and interests, including teaching grade school and herding sheep on the Navajo Reservation, mountain climbing in the Andes while serving in the Peace Corps in South America, teaching Outward Bound students wilderness survival in the Rocky Mountains, and studying various spiritual practice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter graduating from University of Colorado Medical School and completing her residency in family practice in Denver, Erica worked in Cuba, New Mexico, where she fulfilled her National Health Service obligation. From there she worked in a number of settings including a clinic for indigent care, a local emergency room, a women's clinic, and a multispecialty clinic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1993, Dr. Elliott opened her own private practice in her co-housing community, called The Commons, which she helped found in the early 1990s. Dr. Elliott specializes in family practice and environmental medicine. She has been nicknamed the \"Health Detective,\" due to her skills at finding underlying causes of mysterious illnesses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the years, Erica has given radio talks, interviews, webinars, workshops at Esalen and Omega Institutes, and a TEDx talk about living in co-housing. She is the co-author of \u003cem\u003ePrescriptions for a Healthy House\u003c\/em\u003e, and the author of \u003cem\u003eMedicine and Miracles in the High Desert: My Life among the Navajo People.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of Dr. Erica Elliott's magical journey off the beaten path. The utter exuberance she has for life is contagious. An intrepid explorer of cultures, people, mountains, and medicine, Erica's dedication to making people's lives better is the golden thread that holds her world together. A physician of expansive vision and skill, 'La Cabra Montés' (the mountain goat),as she was named after scaling the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, ultimately became 'The Health Detective.' The story of that unlikely transformation ignites the imagination and opens the heart. This is a book you'll want to share with all the people you love.\" -\u003cstrong\u003e Joan Borysenko\u003c\/strong\u003e, PhD, speaker and \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e best-selling author of \u003cem\u003eMinding the Body, Mending the Mind\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Erica Elliott is a natural-born storyteller. Her deeply affecting memoir is about family and the essential journey of self-discovery she went on to find her soul's purpose. This book takes you on a wild, world odyssey through the Swiss Alps, the Peace Corps in Ecuador, and mountain climbing in Argentina. Elliott's writing is honest and intoxicating; she writes about diverse Indigenous people, culture, and communities around the world in an intimate, visceral way. Ultimately, Elliott's wise heart leads her home to discover what was there all along—her destiny to be a healer.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eDebra Rosenman, \u003c\/strong\u003eauthor\/editor of the multi-award-winning book \u003cem\u003eThe Chimpanzee Chronicles: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope from Behind the Bars\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine: Scaling the Heights in Search of My Calling\u003c\/em\u003e is a truly compelling, fascinating, and engaging journey—actually many journeys of Erica Elliott's life. I found myself laughing out loud, holding my breath, opening my eyes wide in shock, at times exclaiming 'holy sh*t!'—and I imagine you will too. It is much more than a memoir. It is so engrossing I forgot I was reading a book, and I look forward to the day when it is made into a movie. Erica's writing is clear and straight forward, taking you step by step through pivotal moments in her life, as if you were traveling right along with her. Definitely a must-read!\" - \u003cstrong\u003eAlan Questel\u003c\/strong\u003e, Author of \u003cem\u003ePractice Intentional Acts of Kindness\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this mind-bending and heart-opening memoir, Erica Elliott takes us on the intimate journey of finding her ultimate purpose in life. Each of us is offered clues in our lives, at first as quiet as a tiny mountain spring, which, if we listen and follow, can become a river plunging toward the sea. The miracle of the rites of passage that Erica offers here is her listening and following, her opening awareness and courage along the way, and her remarkable ability to bring us along. In our taking this journey with her, we, too, can become more attentive and devoted to saying 'Yes!' to the opportunities that life affords us.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eHeidi Sparkes Guber\u003c\/strong\u003e, co-author of \u003cem\u003eA Whole Greater than Its Parts: Exploring the Role of Emergence in Complex Social Change\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In a voice that always cuts to the heart of things, Erica Elliott describes her adventures in mountaineering and the Peace Corps in the Andes in colorful, imagistic word paintings. She also looks back on her life in a large itinerant army family, and how she overcame its difficult emotional legacy. All this prepares her for a life healing others. Her inspiring story and heartfelt voice have their own curative properties.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eSally Abbott\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eMiami in Virgo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Right from the beginning of her story, [Erica Elliott] draws the reader into her narrative as she threads her way through the turbulent early years of her life, overcoming many challenges along the way. Her guiding star is her search for meaning and purpose, which leads her to some spellbinding adventures... [You] will find this book uplifting, inspiring, and full of wisdom.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eAlice K. Ladas\u003c\/strong\u003e, EdD author of the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller \u003cem\u003eThe G Spot and Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A person's purpose in life seems to live in that sweet spot where your deepest joy intersects with your unique skill set and also with the world's endless need. It is a treat and an education to follow the young, courageous, and tenacious Erica Elliott through her extraordinary journey as she puts together all three. Full of insight as well as cultural and mountaineering adventure, \u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e is a great read.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eChris Hoffman,\u003c\/strong\u003e author of \u003cem\u003eThe Hoop and the Tree: A Compass for Finding a Deeper Relationship with All Life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Few coming-of-age tales carry a reader so deeply into the heart and soul of the one who lived it. Dr. Erica Merriam Elliott takes us through her acutely intimate and profoundly explicit struggles to find her own unique purpose and meanings in life, work, and vocation... The reader will find breathtaking moments of sheer terror and the power of her unfathomable tenacity and courage in the midst of astonishing beauty and in the face of bone-crushing poverty. \u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e, the second in her memoir trilogy, is a story of resilience, giving us remarkable insight into what makes us supremely human and what drives us to finding our distinctive path in life... Erica shines a bright light on the multiple possibilities of what it means to be whole, to be human, and to be hopeful. Your time and energy in following her saga will bring you to tears and shouts of delight.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eThe Reverend Canon Ted Karpf\u003c\/strong\u003e, Episcopal priest and author of \u003cem\u003eActs of Forgiveness: Faith Journeys of a Gay Priest\u003c\/em\u003e and principal editor of the World Health Organization’s \u003cem\u003eRestoring Hope: Decent Care in the Midst of HIV\/AIDS\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lammastide","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47846687277373,"sku":"9798987620007","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798987620007ita.jpg?v=1707242649"},{"product_id":"sometimes-i-wake-up-and-think-im-still-in-nebraska","title":"Sometimes I Wake Up and Think I'm Still in Nebraska","description":"\u003cp\u003eOur world is assailed by its enormous weight of humanity. Enough people going about their lives in reckless, dangerous ways sufficient to bring on the End Times. But life on this planet forms a huge collective Being, and it is not without its resources. The World Ash Tree, or Yggdrasil, carries a titanic flow of power and information between the underworld and the heavens. An avatar of this Ash is in the Catskill mountains, in themselves a source of great spiritual strength.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere we find two men of extraordinary substance working together as skilled harvesters in the forest. They are unknown to the world, and like others of their rare kind, they themselves are without knowledge of who they are. But they are possessed of great strength and uncompromising Justice. These two are called out through Yggdrasil to become warriors in the cause of the Earth. The summons, accepted with free will, takes them to a trial at the edge of mortality, and perhaps beyond. They prove themselves without compromise and move on separately to lives committed to service.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut the trial has wrought other, darker changes in each man. A part of each of them stands in shadow. In time, with deep study, one finds a path out of this shade and knows he must share it with his comrade, whom he has not seen or contacted in over half a lifetime. He issues his own summons, and this is also one that cannot be denied.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHarold \"Dusty\" Dowse\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in Albany, NY and raised there and in the tiny town of Stillwater. He is a graduate of The Albany Academy, Amherst College, and New York University (Ph.D.). Upon receiving his Doctorate, he and his wife moved to Grahamsville NY, where they dwelled until moving to Maine. During this interval he worked as an electrician, short order cook, cabinet maker and then as a woodsman. He ultimately gained employment at the University of Maine and served there until retirement with professorships in Biology, Mathematics and Statistics, and Bioresource Engineering. He is now Emeritus. He has numerous refereed publications in areas of biological rhythms, signal analysis, and the molecular underpinnings of cardiology. He remains active in research. He is a published poet and writes short stories in the science fiction and fantasy genre. Dusty now operates a wood-fired artisan bakery and is a third degree blackbelt, Shotokan style, maintaining his own dojo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The novel called Sometimes I Wake Up and Think I'm Still in Nebraska, authored by Dusty Dowse, is a fine read: It really moves the reader along, via a combination of imagination, intelligence, \u0026amp; humor. One is tempted to describe that work as picaresque (a good thing!); shades of The Sotweed Factor. And even though I never met Mr. Barth, the author of that work, I should mention that I have long known Dusty D. Accordingly, I could not help discerning certain autobiographical elements distributed through his book: an extra good thing, owing to the author's rich, full, and interesting life. And even though most readers would not know, or care about that feature of the novel, the key factor is that they are in for a fine reading experience if they opt to acquire, then delve into it, which they should do.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Hall\u003c\/strong\u003e, Ph.D. Nobel Laureate; author of\u003cem\u003e The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Dusty Dowse is a Renaissance-type of man who has a vast range of interests and knowledge. He is not only an author, but also a professor emeritus in biology, a researcher in fields that would be considered esoteric, a Zen baker, and a mountain man. His recently published book, 'Sometimes I Wake Up and Think I'm Still in Nebraska,' is fiction, but so compelling in the vivid and detailed descriptions of the protagonist, a leading scientist named Larry Vintner, and one other main character, I can't help but wonder if each of those characters represents an aspect of the author. You will be drawn in by the stories which make the book hard to put down.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eErica M. Elliott\u003c\/strong\u003e, MD Author, speaker, mountaineer, and Medical Doctor. Her current work is \u003cem\u003eFrom Mountains to Medicine-Scaling the Heights in Search of my Calling.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The best compliment for any writer is that he told a good story and it was based on his own life. Dusty Dowse is twice blessed; he lived an original life and came up with an even more original story. His long and rich resume makes a worthy template for Larry, the protagonist of 'Sometimes I Wake Up and Think I'm Still In Nebraska.' Larry is a professor of some arcane branch of computer science at an unnamed university in Cambridge, Mass., an unlikely destination for a man who started out as a logger in the northern Catskills and is drawn back to the mountain forests by his love of climbing and a need for solace. The mystique of the forest and its eerie natural phenomena, some explicable, some inexplicable, looms over everything. One of these is a magnificent ash tree that casts a spell over all who see it and becomes the locus for a violent clash between a youthful Larry, who wants to save it, and his brutish employer, Jimmy, who wants cut it down. The ensuing fight between them sends Jimmy fleeing into the deep woods believing he has killed Larry. But Larry survives and both men are thrust into their own personal quest for the meaning of what brought them to such a terrible moment. When the two old combatants meet again, as we know they must, the denouement is ingenious, astounding and satisfying emotionally and intellectually. I was left wanting more.\" - \u003cstrong\u003ePaul Mann\u003c\/strong\u003e Author of \u003cem\u003eSeason of the Monsoon,\u003c\/em\u003e winner of the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e Notable Book of the Year award\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Not often does a longtime friend and colleague from an academic science department ask you to read his novel. I quickly saw that it drew heavily on the author's own experiences in New York and New England. Reminiscence or novel, it is a good story, with its blend of historical facts and quirks of human nature. The hardscrabble reality of rural New York pervades. Prof. Dowse is versed in crafting scientific publications, with a clean style. His novel flows well and is eminently readable. It follows the career of the central character, Larry Vintner, a top-notch international climate scientist. His 'sense of trees' along with his feeling for all 'things that flow' allow him to 'hear them talking in the forest floor.' But this mysticism is blended with scientific discussions of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and heat transfer in self-organizing systems involved in the formation of hurricanes. This marvelous book will especially interest readers who can recall how the world has changed in the past four-plus decades. Academics, especially scientists, will enjoy his wry treatment of the familiar politics, culture, and personalities of their domain. Thoughtful readers will be drawn to reflect on why we are here, where we are headed, and the importance of the relationships that make us human, including our connections with non-humans. Books such as this are good arguments against a dehumanized future where with composition by EI (Ersatz Intelligence) literature can't flourish.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eMalcolm Shick\u003c\/strong\u003e, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Zoology and Oceanography, University of Maine, and author of\u003cem\u003e Where Corals Lie.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"'Sometimes I Wake Up and Think I'm Still in Nebraska' is a classic—a hardcore underground working-class novel somewhat reminiscent of nineteenth-century novelist Thomas Hardy with a touch of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, and Annie Proulx, but more blue-collar and engine-and-motor-savvy. It's a rare novel that can teach you about Johann Sebastian Bach's music and how machines work at the same time.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eRichard Grossinger\u003c\/strong\u003e, Ph.D. Curator of Sacred Planet Books at Inner Traditions, and author of \u003cem\u003eBottoming Out the Universe: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Okay, boomers. This is a story for you. It's about two men, casual friends who are also loggers: one the boss, the other his employee. They've followed different paths to this place in their lives. One day on the job they find themselves faced with events they can't explain. A moment of sudden, jarring violence scatters them into the wide world again, with more questions than ever.Dusty takes us along their journey through insights and experiences of a life overlapping two centuries. The dialogue is real; the experiences, locations and events of recent decades are familiar to any of us that have lived through them. The story doesn't answer every question raised or tie up every loose end – just like life. It does give the reader much to think about. And that is, in itself, a rare and wonderful thing.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eDiane Genthner\u003c\/strong\u003e has 20+ years’ experience as a trade book buyer at B Dalton and the UMaine Bookstore, and also holds a MA in English. She writes fiction privately as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Lammastide","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49260281266493,"sku":"9798987620021","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798987620021ita.jpg?v=1724178901"},{"product_id":"pursuing-consciousness-the-book-of-enlightenment-and-transformation-1","title":"Pursuing Consciousness: The Book of Enlightenment and Transformation","description":"\u003cp\u003eBuilding on his previous groundbreaking work, Peter Ralston once again proves to be a sure-footed guide for readers seeking to negotiate the challenging terrain of personal and spiritual growth. In accessible language, Ralston demonstrates how the lofty goals of self-transformation and enlightenment can be achieved with a no-nonsense approach available to anyone willing to reach beyond their current experience of self and reality. \u003ci\u003ePursuing Consciousness\u003c\/i\u003e is a down-to-earth handbook for staying focused on the work at hand, even while tackling such unsettling tasks as investigating deeply ingrained psychological beliefs and identifying common areas of misunderstanding that hamper transformative growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRalston explains that deeper levels of consciousness aren't just for monks—anyone can have an enlightenment experience. He shows that enlightenment does \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e transform the self, and transforming the self does \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e produce enlightenment. Once we grasp that these two pursuits take place in entirely different domains of consciousness, we can use each to empower the other. Ralston provides specific tools for changing the very person that we experience being. His work has been acclaimed by people from a diverse range of disciplines—including spiritual teachers, psychiatrists, cognitive scientists, physicists, and artists. As with Ralston's previous works, this book points the way to a direct encounter with the true nature of Being and the possibility of real personal change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lammastide","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50235481194813,"sku":"9798987620045","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798987620045ita_ac38789a-711b-46f4-a054-5de332a25380.jpg?v=1745516013"},{"product_id":"whereof-one-cannot-speak-absolute-consciousness-beyond-the-self-1","title":"Whereof one cannot speak: Absolute Consciousness Beyond the Self","description":"\u003cp\u003eUsing his unique approach, once again, Peter Ralston tackles an unprecedented and inconceivable depth of consciousness. Properly understood, this book could transform and enlighten the worlds of psychology, spirituality, personal growth, philosophy, science, Buddhism, and every other attempt at grasping the truth. The goal of this book is no less than having you attain a profound consciousness of the absolute nature of existence beyond the limits of self and the accumulated conclusions of human history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book should not be your first encounter with Ralston's work, it is far too advanced. It is best to start with the trilogy: \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Not Knowing, Pursuing Consciousness\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Genius of Being\u003c\/i\u003e before tackling this one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a progression of illuminating assertions, Ralston shows us that the self is not some ethereal \"object\" within as is widely accepted and persists despite the failure of exhaustive investigations to locate this inner-self. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. It turns out our entire reality is beyond any self. Grasping this demands an unprecedented depth of consciousness, but it also leads to unprecedent levels of joy and freedom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lammastide","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":51474213470525,"sku":"9798987620083","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798987620083ita_e1bed5cc-cc2b-44dd-8176-cf0fc4d2a3a4.jpg?v=1773078873"}],"url":"https:\/\/itascabooks.com\/collections\/lammastide.oembed","provider":"Itasca Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}