About the Author

Maria Rodale is an explorer in search of the mysteries of the universe. Author, artist, activist, and recovering CEO, she serves on the board of the Rodale Institute and is also a former board co-chair. Throughout her career, she has advocated for the potential of organic regenerative farming to heal the damage wrought by pesticides and industrial agricultural practices. She is the author of Organic Manifesto and Scratch and is a secret children’s book author. She was also featured in the documentary Kiss the Ground. Maria is a mother, grandmother, and crazy gardener who lives in Pennsylvania, right near where she was born.

Reviews

"Let’s hear it for women intent on conquering new worlds—especially on the astral plane. If we’re going to get trippy, I can think of no better guide than Maria Rodale . . . Love, Nature, Magic: Shamanic Journeys Into the Heart of My Garden is a fascinating book, part memoir, part exploration of Ms. Rodale’s encounters with the spirits of trees, bugs and bunnies. Ms. Rodale bares her soul. Part of the charm of her writing is its unfiltered and enthusiastic forthrightness; no reportorial distancing or irony here. This is a journey into her heart."—Dominique Browning, Wall Street Journal

"Love, Nature, Magic is suited to readers who yearn for nature amid urban life, seeking to connect with the wildness that is already within them."—Civil Eats

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

“Maria Rodale, in Love, Nature, Magic, encourages us all to reach beyond our full potential by diving into the depths of our existential selves. Then, and only then, will the dream open and the planet speak to you with the wonder and silence of creation.”—Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of To Speak for the Trees 

"Rodale shows that she is a skilled and poetic writer and a powerful advocate for nature and the interconnectedness of all beings. VERDICT Recommended for people who love gardening or those with an interest in spiritual connections with nature."—Library Journal

“If you have ever wondered whether there is more to this life, this world, this universe than you can imagine, do yourself a favor and read this book. Love, Nature, Magic will blow your mind and open your heart. It just might help you think differently about that ‘pest’ insect or that ‘weed’ daring to crash the party of your perfectly manicured lawn. Buckle up for an exhilarating ride toward enlightenment.”—John Grogan, international bestselling author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog and former editor, Organic Gardening magazine 

"A thoughtful and thought-provoking read from first page to last, Love, Nature, Magic: Shamanic Journeys into the Heart of My Garden is an extraordinary work that will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in Shamanism and Nature Writing. Informative, compelling, memorable, Love, Nature, Magic is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Metaphysical Studies collections."—Midwest Book Review

“Love, Nature, Magic is an invitation to discover a sacred dialogue with the plants and spirits of the land, like humans had long ago before we were kicked out of Paradise. Mother Nature never stopped talking to us, as Maria Rodale discovers in her journey into the world of the shamans. It is we who stopped listening. This rich and timely book will guide you to open your heart and mind to a world infused with magic and beauty. It’s all around you, really!”—Alberto Villoldo, PhD, bestselling author of Shaman, Healer, Sage and One Spirit Medicine

“Having lived and breathed organic gardening and farming her entire life—and eons before it was fashionable or cool—Maria Rodale is the best guide I can think of to explore new discoveries with. I AM ALL IN with Love, Nature, Magic.”—Laurie David, producer, An Inconvenient Truth and The Social Dilemma; co-author of Imagine It! A Handbook for a Happier Planet

“In Love, Nature, Magic, Maria Rodale took me on a learning journey that I hadn’t realized how much I needed to experience. With her witty prose and intimate relationship with gardening and shamanic journeying, Maria extends a loving invitation, wrapped in vivid storytelling, for readers to discover nature and the magic residing within us in beautiful and bold, new-found ways. Her book is a nurturing peace offering from nature, including messages from some of the least likely voices—poison ivy, bats, and vultures—reminding us that when we work in partnership with nature, we all benefit.”—Shawn Dove, founder, Campaign for Black Male Achievement; managing partner, New Profit

“In Love, Nature, Magic, Maria Rodale invites us to reimagine our relationship to nature, to plants, insects, and animals, and to our own souls. She invites us into a world just below the surface of our daily lives and awareness: a world that brings us closer to what is real and eternal, to what heals and what just may be the antidote to our increasing disconnection to ourselves and nature.”—Mark Hyman, MD, senior advisor, Cleveland Clinic, Center for Functional Medicine; author of Young Forever 

“When someone as grounded as Maria Rodale shares how the intelligence of plants, insects, and animals surpass what we have come to believe, we should listen. There is a teaching here. Love, Nature, Magic is about sentience, a living world more spectacular and alive than one can imagine, a shared consciousness known to Indigenous people for over ten thousand years. Once this is understood, what else can you do but honor and love all of life.” —Paul Hawken, founder, Project Drawdown 

“Essential and stirring. Maria Rodale takes us on a journey of love, beauty, magic, and . . . mugwort! Let us heed her words and learn to live in harmony with planet Earth.”—Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell, producers and directors, Kiss the Ground and On Sacred Ground 

“Maria Rodale is courageous, and so in sync. She is an instinctive adventurer in the world of natural mysteries that is derided by ‘sensible’ people, and her timing may be just perfect to start changing such perceptions. Maria writes that things come to us when we need them, and we sure do need love, nature, and magic right now. Or, at least, I do. I am following her on a journey that speaks to the future of inter-species harmony: Humans at peace with nature—healing, not harming. My thanks to Maria for her warmth, perspicacity, and bravery.” —Edwina von Gal, landscape designer; founder, Perfect Earth Project 

“Maria Rodale’s irresistible new book is Eat, Pray, Love meets Dr. Doolittle meets, well . . . Maria Rodale. Her book wants me to ditch my phone and squish berries, smell leaves, and capture fireflies in my own backyard, not giving a damn what my neighbors think.”—Danny Seo, editor-in-chief, Naturally, Danny Seo  

“Love, Nature, Magic is a beautiful, heartful look at the interconnectedness of all beings, be they plant, animal, or human. Nobody is better suited to tell this story of what it means to link the sacred and the mundane than Maria Rodale. The result is an absolute must-read, a delightful road map of wisdom about how to live more softly and in sync with the natural world, rather than at battle with it.”—Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man’s Feast and Motherland 

“Our survival depends on our rediscovering that we are nature, not separate from it. Maria Rodale’s inspiring and provocative shamanic journeys remind us how important it is to see the tapestry of life around us with the eyes of the heart. Once we see our deep connection with all life, we will not only learn how we can save it but how it will save us. You will never see nature the same way again.”—Douglas Abrams, coauthor of The Book of Hope and The Book of Joy

"The prose is conversational and inviting, and self-deprecating humor abounds, balancing out the seriousness of the messages shared. All these elements come together into a loving and engaging book."—Foreword Reviews

"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 Twitter)