Review: Whispers from the Earth - Teaching Stories

In my work as a freelance proofreader I obviously get to read a lot of books. Most of them I enjoy – I wouldn’t do my job if I didn’t like it. Every so often, however, a book comes along that blows me away. Whispers from the Earth: Teaching Stories From The Ancestors, by storyteller and shamanic worker Taz Thornton, is one of them.

Publisher Moon Books describes it as: “Ancient teaching stories from the earth, together with meditations and step-by-step guides to sourcing your own tales from the spirits of the ancestors.”

That’s a good summary of the book’s contents, but doesn’t in any way describe the way I felt when I read the stories within it. Whispers from the Earth reminded me of how enthralled I was when I heard my favourite fairy stories told to me as a child. Yet the book is aimed at adults, not children.

I wanted to say, “Again! Again!” as children sometimes do with bedtime stories. And, of course, because I was proofing the book, I did get to read the tales again, and again. And each time I read them I learnt more from them, which is the mark of great stories.

Taz also encourages people to find their own stories too – by connecting with the ancestors and the spirits of the land to channel tales that need to be told. She explains techniques for doing this. The final chapter gives examples of stories by Taz’s students, showing just how well her teaching works.

Whether you enjoying reading stories, telling them or writing, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Links
Whispers from the Earth: Teaching Stories From The Ancestors, Beautifully Woven For Today’s Spiritual Seekers
http://www.moon-books.net/books/whispers-from-earth

To read more posts like this visit A Bad Witch’s Blog at www.badwitch.co.uk