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Author photo: Joy von Tiedemann

Sylvia Fraser is one of Canada’s most respected journalists and writers, especially noted for her exploration of human consciousness and the mysteries of existence. She is the bestselling and award-winning author of ten books, including The Rope in the Water: A Pilgrimage to India and the internationally acclaimed My Father’s House: A Memoir of Incest and Healing.

In The Green Labyrinth "Fraser seamlessly combines the factual and the personal with a style that makes the work intriguing: rather than seeking to 'find herself' or write a treatise on healing, Fraser wants to see what adventures will come her way if she keeps an open mind..." - Quill & Quire "One of the most courageous, skilled, and unconventional writers working in Canada."                    - Winnipeg Free Press "One can relax and enjoy Ms. Fraser's writing, which is rich yet superbly honed."                    - The New York Times

Jacket design: Gordon Robertson Photo of Amazon: Will & Deni McIntyre/Stone

For three months Sylvia Fraser traveled through the jungles, mountains and deserts of Peru, exploring the mysteries of ancient cultures, as well as the healing wisdom of today’s shamans, who practice rituals using mind-expanding substances to heal body, mind and spirit. Inspiring this journey was Fraser’s desire to drink the highly psychoactive plant medicine ayahuasca. What intrigued her were reports of Western scientists willing to testify that ayahuasca visions were not just hallucinations, but actual journeys into other realms of reality. Some researchers have even claimed that ayahuasca is as important for opening up the field of consciousness to systematic investigation as the microscope is to medicine and the telescope to astronomy.

With Fraser as our guide, we climb the mountain redoubt of Machu Picchu, legendary fortress of the Incas, then travel through Peru’s coastal deserts to see ancient Nazca line-drawings, so impressive in scale and artistry that they’ve been popularly attributed to aliens. But more importantly, Fraser takes us along the Amazon River to several shamanistic sanctuaries that hover at the edge of our modern world. There we meet a diverse group of questers searching for their own answers. During a number of shamanic ceremonies, Fraser ingests ayahuasca, propelling her on terrifying but illuminating journeys into the unknown that, ultimately, force her to reassess Western concepts of what is “real” and what is not. Accessible and rich in humor and insight, The Green Labyrinth engages the reader in a series of unusual adventures while probing the higher mysteries.

From The Green Labyrinth

Thomas Allen Publishers 340 pages, $34.95 Available at Canadian bookstores or online at www.indigo.ca

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