It’s not an exaggeration to say that finding a path toward a spiritual belief that accepted me for who I am was a lifelong pursuit for me. As someone who felt pushed out by the Catholic Church for my transness, I wanted to find something that kept some of those traditions but built on them in a way that made sense to me and included me. Italian-American folk magic had room for people like me in a way that organized religion never did. The magical memoirs of contemporary writers inspired me to synthesize what I’d learned into my own grimoire/memoir.
I wrote
Breaking the Curse: A Memoir about Trauma, Healing, and Italian Witchcraft
I love this meditation on magic, parenting a child with a medical condition, and intimate partner violence for its honesty and bravery.
Hillary Leftwich doesn’t shy away from discussing traumatic events and her own decisions that left her life feeling unmoored and the magical pathways that helped her come back to herself. Fearless and insightful, this was one of my favorite memoirs in recent years.
AURA is more than a memoir-- it's a spell book for survival, a powerful promise from mother to son, and an intimate examination of power, spirituality, and the abuse of both.
"AURA is more than a memoir-- it's a spell book for survival, a powerful promise from mother to son, and an intimate examination of power, spirituality, and the abuse of both. Hillary Leftwich weaves together the stories of her life to create startlingly raw memories that are both personal and profoundly universal. She explores the devastating impact of patriarchy in her own life while searching for answers in witchcraft,…
I was amazed and inspired by the places that Elissa Washuta went with this book. Not only is it about living in a potentially haunted home and the magic that the author engages with, but also, somehow, about historical markers, The Oregon Trail, and indigeneity.
I felt like I was traveling along with Elissa Washuta’s brilliant mind as she made her way through all these seemingly disparate but ultimately very connected topics.
A TIME, NPR, New York Public Library, Lit Hub, Book Riot, and Entropy Best Book of the Year
"Beguiling and haunting. . . . Washuta's voice sears itself onto the skin." ―The New York Times Book Review
Bracingly honest and powerfully affecting, White Magic establishes Elissa Washuta as one of our best living essayists.
Throughout her life, Elissa Washuta has been surrounded by cheap facsimiles of Native spiritual tools and occult trends, “starter witch kits” of sage, rose quartz, and tarot cards packaged together in paper and…
People throw around the phrase “this book changed my life” far too easily, in my opinion, so when I say it about this book, please know that I mean it with all my being. I found this book while I was in a mental health crisis, and it helped link me to my ancestors, the good life they would wish for me, and forgiveness through intricately detailed rituals and folk traditions.
A must-read if you’re Italian-American–or even if you’re not–this book helped me structure my life in a way that felt true to who I am.
In this fascinating journey through the magical, folkloric, and healing traditions of Italy the reader learns uniquely Italian methods of magical protection and divination and spells for love, sex, control, and revenge.
"Mary-Grace Fahrun's Italian Folk Magic is an intimate journey into the heart of Italian folk magical practices as they are lived every day. Having grown up in an extended Italian family in North America and Italy, the author presents us with the stories, characters, saints, charms, and prayers that form the core of folk religion, setting them in context in an authentic, down-to-earth, and humorous voice. A delight…
I have a fraught relationship with my ancestors, but I still wish for their blessings and the hope they had for me. This book, with its magical rituals for elevating ancestors and paths to forgiveness, helped me come to peace with the people who’d come before me and with myself.
It is a must-read for anyone who has any interest in channeling the magic of their lineage.
Ancestor veneration is one of the most widespread spiritual practices in the world. This book shares techniques to help you connect to your ancestors and receive the benefits that come from veneration more love in your life, better outcomes in creative pursuits, and an improved sense of wellness. Discover how genealogical research, family recipes, gentle rituals, and even practices like music and dancing can help open a wonderful new dimension of your spiritual journey. Honoring Your Ancestors shares the important distinctions between working with blood ancestors, lineage ancestors, and affinity ancestors. You will also explore the topic of ancestral trauma…
I found the discussions in this book to deepen the understanding of what I had gained from Italian-American folk tradition and magic that I first came across in Italian Folk Magic.
With discussions of saint veneration, ancestor veneration, ritual, and more, this book gave my magical practice more depth and direction.
The Italian folklore tradition is one of the most ancient unbroken chains of wisdom on earth. Discover the previously unwritten secrets of an Italian American family's magical tradition passed down from generation to generation. This spellbook provides easy, step-by-step introductions to the basics of authentic Italian American magical practice. Discover how to:
Run a magical household, including creating a family altar and connecting with your ancestors Enhance your wellbeing for self and family through Buona Fortuna Perform transformative candle magic Diagnose, cure and ward away malocchio Learn time-tested health remedies from relieving symptoms of viruses to maintaining healthy skin and…
This is a book about forging a path through violence, transphobic discrimination, and childhood abuse with ancestral magic.
Part memoir, part self-help book, and part grimoire, my book invites readers into a non-linear, intimate discussion of the narrator’s life and struggles and their ultimate triumph over them.
Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect or remember. Christmas Actually is a festive drama about family and forgiveness and a snapshot of modern family life, addressing Instagram to motherhood and everything in between.
Why Christmas? My publisher wanted my new novel to have a festive theme, specifically set in Australia–sun, surf, sunburn, and prawns. Christmas in Australia is very different from Christmas in the UK, USA, and Canada. We typically wear shorts and t-shirts, eat salad and seafood for Christmas lunch, and play beach cricket in the afternoon. Despite the season, conflicts, secrets,…
Time spent with family can be challenging, especially at Christmas actually…
Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer.
With her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly-dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt.
Then as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens – both personally and professionally. Can she move on…
