Why am I passionate about this?

I have expertise in the area of spirituality and alternative health from working for over 20 years as a shamanic practitioner, spiritual teacher, and healer. I have travelled extensively and trained with many renowned teachers all over the world. I also provide ancestral healing and train students to be ancestral healers. Through my own healing journey, I have studied many healing and alternative approaches to wellness. I have studied extensively with plants and herbs. In 2020 I wrote my award-winning book Illumination of the Shadow, which explores ancestral healing. I have always had an interest in books in the mind, body, and spirit area, and read extensively in this area.


I wrote

Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the past for the future

By Anthea Durand,

Book cover of Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the past for the future

What is my book about?

Imagine tracking back thousands of years to the origin of a repeated ancestral illness, for example, depression in your ancestral…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of How to Starve Cancer

Anthea Durand Why did I love this book?

I recommend this award-winning book written by a woman who fought cancer successfully 3 times. In this book, she demonstrates bravery and expertise in this subject. This book is exceptionally written with a lot of research within and outside the medical field. Despite her own challenges, her compassion shines through. From reading this book, I found it very healing to understand cancer and how following certain protocols can help the disease to remission.  I love how this book helped my friend affected by cancer and many other people, and I sense the author has saved many lives

The value I got from the book was an understanding of how cancer works and whether affected by cancer or not, how making changes in our everyday life can help aid remission and aid healing of the body.

By Jane McLelland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Starve Cancer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After being given a terminal diagnosis with only a few weeks to live, Jane threw herself into research. Already medically knowledgeable as a Chartered Physiotherapist, Jane dug up research, some decades old, in her quest to survive. Rather than aiming to cure cancer, which in many cases is unachievable, Jane�s approach was to stop it growing. Remarkably her approach not only stopped it growing, it disappeared altogether. There are now clinics following her protocol, achieving remarkable successes. This book is a game-changing new dawn in the treatment of cancer.

Not just a page-turning inspirational read, Jane�s remarkable life story is…


Book cover of Mind, Body and Immunity: How to Enhance Your Body's Natural Defences

Anthea Durand Why did I love this book?

This is a great book, which comprehensively explores the body's immune system. It provides great insights that I was not aware of the various factors that can cause the immunity to breakdown. It is full of information and is easy to read, yet very comprehensive on each area that is explored. I loved the individual exercises included in the book, for example around exploring how toxic your environment is and how this can affect your immunity, which provided great practical information for reflection

This book really helped me with my personal well-being. I am more aware of what can affect my immunity, and how I can live and eat better and enhance my natural defenses.

By Rachel Charles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mind, Body and Immunity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on the author's personal experience of fighting cancer, this study draws on current research in the area of immune efficiency and provides practical guidelines on planning and implementing an enhancement programme which concentrates on mind, emotions, diet and exercise. The author explores the connection between the onset of illness and emotional upsets, and explains how to deal with anger, stress and resentment through a series of visualization and relaxation techniques. She also examines the physiological and psychological effects of exercise, and outlines the "peak immunity" diet. The text includes information on other immune-deficient and auto-immune diseases, such as allergies,…


Book cover of Lucky-Child: The Secret

Anthea Durand Why did I love this book?

I was drawn to this award-winning fiction book because of my interest in the aboriginal culture. From reading this book I was taken through the challenging emotional journey that was faced by the aboriginal Lucy, challenges which are still faced in modern-day Australia by peoples from the aboriginal culture. I feel it is good to understand different cultures which this book shows, and the inherent challenges, along with reading this fascinating story.

I loved the beautiful drawings in the book by the author which helps invoke a connection to the story and the emotional journey through the book. The value I got from the book from a deeper understanding of the culture and the breath of the trauma that has been experienced.

By Chelinay Gates,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lucky-Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The best piece of literature I've read in a long time. I could see, hear, feel, taste and smell the story... it stands the reader between the past and the future, the earth below and the heavenly aspect above... The Secret becomes the vehicle for forgiveness, compassion and love." - Laksar Burra Author of "Spirit of the Night Sky" Answering her dying great-grandmother's call, Lucy is lured into the dark red heart of Australia's Great Sandy Desert. Indigenous mother tongues Mangala and Wajarri exquisitely mimic the landscapes and evoke a feeling of timelessness that transports Lucy and the all-female search…


Book cover of Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise

Anthea Durand Why did I love this book?

This is a classical book on magical herbalism that has a prominent position on my bookshelf and which I always refer to when exploring plants and herbs. I love the unique way that this book connects you to the magical properties of herbs and plants, by exploring for example their astrological connections.

I have obtained so much value from this book, not only from the knowledge gained of herbs and plants but also from learning how you can use plants and herbs in different ways for healing, for example by making incenses, which is explained so clearly in the book. 

By Scott Cunningham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Magical Herbalism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Natural magic utilizes the world around us for magical purposes. Herbs are one of the most important tools for natural magic, and the best introduction to this system is found in Scott Cunningham's Magical Herbalism.

This book presents a complete system of magic using herbs. You will learn the theory of magic and the tools you'll need. Then you'll get countless techniques for using herbs for magic. Need a protection method? "Pick several protective herbs and bind the stems together with red thread, then hang them up. This practice dates back to Babylonian times." You'll find a list of over…


Book cover of A Nation of Unwell: What's Gone Wrong?

Anthea Durand Why did I love this book?

I was inspired by this book which was written by a medical doctor, now working as an integrative doctor due to her own journey of healing a personal illness. Her knowledge of medicine is evident in this book, and she shows how integrative medicine can make a difference to help heal illness. I love that she shares real-life stories of client work and her integrative practices, and the success stories of people getting better.

From reading this book, I understood more why people in modern society are getting more unwell and the importance of more awareness of the integrative practices that are available. I found it valuable that the author also shares individual practices in the book that everyone can do to improve their health.

By Kristine L. Gedroic, Valerie A. Latona,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Nation of Unwell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you want to maintain optimal wellness at any age? A NATION OF UNWELL: WHAT'S GONE WRONG? describes in easy-to-understand detail how to maintain your health and how to recover your wellness if you have a chronic illness or disease.A NATION OF UNWELL describes how the health of most patients today can be recovered, without a lifetime of medication.More than 117 million Americans, including children, are struggling with chronic health problems—and the numbers keep rising. In A NATION OF UNWELL, Dr. Gedroic—a Harvard-trained doctor in Morristown, New Jersey—explains how to stem the tide of rising chronic disease and illnesses today…


Explore my book 😀

Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the past for the future

By Anthea Durand,

Book cover of Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the past for the future

What is my book about?

Imagine tracking back thousands of years to the origin of a repeated ancestral illness, for example, depression in your ancestral field. This award-winning book demonstrates that this is possible and how this wisdom can help transform your life. The real-life ancestral stories shared in this book are reflections of ancestral experiences on earth

Shadow work, looking into our own shadow and that of the collective and your ancestors, is the key to healing, spiritual evolution, and development. Healing ancestral patterns is the key to shadow work; it frees the individual from that which does not serve anymore. This book includes exercises and great wisdom to help you heal your life. It also includes 30 powerful illustrations, to aid the healing journey through the book.

You might also like...

The Yamanaka Factors

By Jed Henson,

Book cover of The Yamanaka Factors

Jed Henson Author Of The Yamanaka Factors

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Dad Outdoorsman Space cowboy Curious

Jed's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Fall 2028. Mickey Cooper, an elderly homeless man, receives an incredible proposition from a rogue pharmaceutical company: “Be our secret guinea pig for our new drug, and we’ll pay you life-changing money, which you’ll be able to enjoy because if (cough) when the treatment works, two months from now your body will be youthened to twenty-three years old.”

When his treatment proves more difficult than expected, and corporate espionage turns deadly, Mickey finds himself flanked by internal corruption and powerful external enemies, including Chinese operatives desperate to reverse their country’s aging demographics and amoral U.S. government officials who fear the…

The Yamanaka Factors

By Jed Henson,

What is this book about?

Fall 2028. Mickey Cooper, an elderly homeless man, receives an incredible proposition from a rogue pharmaceutical company: “Be our secret guinea pig for our new drug and we’ll pay you life-changing money, which you’ll be able to enjoy because if (cough) when the treatment works, two months from now your body will be youthened to twenty-three years old.”

When his treatment proves more difficult than expected and corporate espionage turns deadly, Mickey finds himself flanked by internal corruption and powerful external enemies, including Chinese operatives desperate to reverse their country’s aging demographics and amoral U.S. government officials who fear the…


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Interested in spirituality, cancer, and herbs?

Spirituality 314 books
Cancer 125 books
Herbs 17 books