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The Fellowship of the River: A Medical Doctor's Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine
Western medicine has not been particularly successful at getting people relief from conditions like depression, chronic pain, migraine headaches, addiction, and PTSD. Dr. Tafur helps us to understand why.
I have watched people spend years in frustration and thousands of dollars consulting an army of specialists, without getting real relief from their problem. Because these and others are diseases deeply connected with the state of our emotional bodies. Too often, the Western medical approach fails to address the emotional dimension of illness. This is where traditional plant medicines, with their ability to alter consciousness and open channels of communication to our emotions, offer so much promise.
The stories shared here demonstrate the astonishing-mystical, colorful, metaphysical-effects of ayahuasca and Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine. Follow Dr. Tafur through the Amazon jungle as he develops a breakthrough understanding of how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. What Dr. Tafur presents here is nothing short of a paradigm shift for modern medicine, where sacred plants, used properly in ceremony, take their place as important tools in the doctor's medicine chest, offering the missing elements of emotional and spiritual healing that have eluded us for so long.
For more information about The Fellowship of The River, please visit https: //drjoetafur.com/the-fellowship-of-the-...
I have watched people spend years in frustration and thousands of dollars consulting an army of specialists, without getting real relief from their problem. Because these and others are diseases deeply connected with the state of our emotional bodies. Too often, the Western medical approach fails to address the emotional dimension of illness. This is where traditional plant medicines, with their ability to alter consciousness and open channels of communication to our emotions, offer so much promise.
The stories shared here demonstrate the astonishing-mystical, colorful, metaphysical-effects of ayahuasca and Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine. Follow Dr. Tafur through the Amazon jungle as he develops a breakthrough understanding of how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. What Dr. Tafur presents here is nothing short of a paradigm shift for modern medicine, where sacred plants, used properly in ceremony, take their place as important tools in the doctor's medicine chest, offering the missing elements of emotional and spiritual healing that have eluded us for so long.
For more information about The Fellowship of The River, please visit https: //drjoetafur.com/the-fellowship-of-the-...
288 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2017
306 people are currently reading
1836 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
April 11, 2018
I got this book on Audible and enjoyed it so much I have listened to it again and am getting the hard copy. It is one of the best books I have read on Plant Medicine and Ayahuasca, right up there with The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby. Joseph Tafur is engaging and informative, sharing his personal journey through medical school to the jungles of the Amazon. He does a great job in giving a balanced and transparent view of the realm of ayahuasca and other plant medicines; covering a vast array of topics, from plants, diets, icaros and ceremony to risks, recovery and, the all important, integration. Dr Tafur gives us an insight into healing journeys through some interesting case studies. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in plant medicine, spiritual and emotional healing, and effective healing of trauma.
January 14, 2019
Dr. Tafur's work is part of an important wave; the new order of entheogenic/psychedelic culture. Tarfur and similar academic contributors (Jeremy Narby, Thomas B. Roberts, Neal Goldsmith, Gabor Mate) substantiate and clarify this enduring movement. I love the author for merging western medical training with traditional South American plant medicine. His theorizing on the emotional body and limbic system was a pleasant surprise. I wonder how this book hadn't hit my radar earlier. It's a gem in the modern psychedelic literature and an enjoyable read.
April 25, 2019
Fascinating tale of a physician's exploration into the world of Peruvian shamanism, ayahuasca, and mind-body-spiritual connections affecting psychological and physical health. Raises an interesting question about how to approach medicine when experience exceeds scientific knowledge and explanations.
August 28, 2021
This wasn't the book I wanted it to be, but it was still a really pleasant read. Dr. Tafur talks about his journey from being an anxious and depressed medical student, to first discovering plant medicine in peyote, to becoming acquainted with ayahuasca and training to be a shaman himself. I did learn a good bit about ayahuasca tradition, ceremonies, and terminology. But the book ended up being 2/3rds case studies of people's healing experiences at the retreat center he helped start. The experiences were really enlightening early on, but then become quite repetitive. The medical connections to ayahuasca's healing were scattered throughout the book and also redundant. I was hoping for more direct connections made in chapters dedicated to the topic. That being said, I did enjoy reading the book and hearing about Dr. Tafur's journey into shamanism. I learned a lot about how the healers work and view the medicine. I do appreciate the spiritual lens deeply, and recognize that a lot of this healing is not explainable through western medicine.
I would recommend this for folks interested in indigenous plant medicine and thinking about embarking on this journey themselves, but not if you want a grounded scientific/medical connection digging into how ayahuasca heals.
I would recommend this for folks interested in indigenous plant medicine and thinking about embarking on this journey themselves, but not if you want a grounded scientific/medical connection digging into how ayahuasca heals.
March 21, 2022
This is the fascinating account of a Western trained doctor who forays deep into the Peruvian rainforest to explore plant healing and Amazonian medicine. He ends up training to become a shaman.
This book gives great insight into some of the ways Western medicine is failing us. When it comes to many chronic medical issues and psychiatric disorders, our Western paradigm often comes up short. Traditional Amazonian medicine sees all aspects of the person as connected, and approaches healing from that paradigm.
So many passages from this book resonated with me, I wanted to highlight every passage. The chapter entitled The Wounded Healer was very pertinent to me as a disenchanted nurse working in conventional medicine transitioning into a holistic career. I loved this passage from the beginning of that chapter
bless the thing
that broke you down
and cracked you
open
because the world
needs you open
- Rebecca Campbell
This book gives great insight into some of the ways Western medicine is failing us. When it comes to many chronic medical issues and psychiatric disorders, our Western paradigm often comes up short. Traditional Amazonian medicine sees all aspects of the person as connected, and approaches healing from that paradigm.
So many passages from this book resonated with me, I wanted to highlight every passage. The chapter entitled The Wounded Healer was very pertinent to me as a disenchanted nurse working in conventional medicine transitioning into a holistic career. I loved this passage from the beginning of that chapter
bless the thing
that broke you down
and cracked you
open
because the world
needs you open
- Rebecca Campbell
June 28, 2018
Fascinating book. As a psychiatry resident I very much appreciated the modern medicine lens through which Dr. Tafur explored traditional amazonian plant medicine. It was a much more personal and intense exploration of ayahuasca than I expected. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in an immersion into traditional amazonian plant medicine, especially medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. I found the cultural bridging and translations to be illuminating. Especially valuable is how near the close of each chapter Dr. Tafur interpreted shamanic healing processes into the language and concepts of the modern western medical mindset.
June 8, 2024
A great collection of case studies that really illustrate the principal “mechanisms of action” pertaining to spiritual healing.
May 15, 2025
Fantastic book on the teaching and healing power of ayahuasca and TAPM. I found the integration of his personal story and the cases he knew particularly moving.
December 12, 2019
I loved this book. I like that it was written by an MD regarding alternative medicine. I think many people should read this to help them see alternative ways to help themselves without the use of Big Pharma Drugs that dont really get to the cause of these deep seeded problems humans are facing today.
August 17, 2020
So I am basically definitely going to Peru to study and diet with the master Amazonian jungle plants. This is my post-apocalypse plan. That is all. And also: in the meantime I’m going to get to know my PNI network and my messed-up epigenetic software—stress responses gone awry in my lifetime and in the lives of my parents and ancestors. Next up: DMT : The Spirit Molecule and The Cosmic Serpent.
December 6, 2020
Brilliant!
September 4, 2019
Very good in many ways, well written. I felt there were some problems handling certain subjects. For example, equating traditional Amazon plant medicine with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), to the extent of using the anagram TAPM . "TCM" suits Chinese medicine in many ways because it is so dependent on ordered categories (5 elements, yin yang, etc). Trying to force Amazonian plant medicine into the same mold, with, I suppose, hope of eventually getting the same newfound respect in the West; seems too artificial, too inorganic. The Amazon doesn't have 1000 years of historical record, and, for lack of a better word, technology, that China has. There's also a case study of a Canadian cocaine addict that isn't acknowledged to be as big a failure as it seemed to be, because the patient maintained goodwill and rightfully took responsibility for relapse. It was analyzed sufficiently, but I think more alarm was warranted. Returning to the North and the temptations of home seems to be a serious obstacle for many patients. But the end, or rather the lack of an emotional completeness, was the biggest issue for me. I have my doubts about the Dr. Tafur's departure being as conflict free as he presents. I don't want to cast further unfounded aspersions, maybe it was simply a matter of being with US family more, but intuition suggests remaining in the Amazon was problematic. It does sound like he was overworked there, as much as he ever was in his depression-inducing US medical internship, which he describes in detail. Perhaps too much detail. In the end, I felt there were too many conflicts that were overlooked. My personal opinion, for what it's worth, is that compatibility of the two "medical" philosophies is lower than Dr. Tafur's lets on. And I didn't feel I learned as much as I have from books that were more oriented to psychedelic therapy more generally.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2018
Fellowship of the River is part memoir and part exploration of the hinterland between western and Amazonian medicine. The author, Joseph Tafur, draws on his background as a doctor schooled in standard medical practices who also underwent an apprenticeship as a shaman in the Shipibo tradition. He attempts to reconcile some of the examples of healing he witnessed in the jungle with western medical concepts. The effort is partially successful and impresses the reader with the sense that emotional stressors both in the past and present experience of the patient play a vital role in many types of illness (both physical and mental) and need to be addressed in order to foster healing.
While I found the subject matter interesting, I was a little disappointed by the way the book was written. I wanted found myself wishing for something a little juicier - a little more descriptive colour to give me a sense of what it was actually like to sweat it out in the jungle. The book makes passing reference to the rich belief systems of the jungle culture and how the visionary content of their nightly ceremonies informs the intimate bond between people and their environment, but in the hands of a writer of limited skill, the rich backdrop of his musings is rendered somewhat flat and lifeless.
While I found the subject matter interesting, I was a little disappointed by the way the book was written. I wanted found myself wishing for something a little juicier - a little more descriptive colour to give me a sense of what it was actually like to sweat it out in the jungle. The book makes passing reference to the rich belief systems of the jungle culture and how the visionary content of their nightly ceremonies informs the intimate bond between people and their environment, but in the hands of a writer of limited skill, the rich backdrop of his musings is rendered somewhat flat and lifeless.
May 22, 2022
The Fellowship of the River examines the world of ayahuasca and Amazonian shamanism through the lens of modern medical science. The author recounts his journey from medical school to Iquitos, Peru, where he participates in ayahuasca ceremonies led by a Shipibo shaman. He examines the science behind his mystical experiences while discussing case studies of the people he's worked with while at the Nihue Rao Center.
Tafur does a good job of laying out his scientific argument in layman's terms. He also does himself credit by making clear that there are times when psychedelic plant use is not advisable, such as in cases of bipolar disorder. He also incorporates a subtle critique of Western drug culture, suggesting that recreational drug use misuses powerful and in many cultures sacred plants. However, at times one wishes he uses a bit more skepticism, as when he discusses the use of psychedelic plants in regard to repressed memories.
Overall, this book is worth your time and will give you much to think about.
Tafur does a good job of laying out his scientific argument in layman's terms. He also does himself credit by making clear that there are times when psychedelic plant use is not advisable, such as in cases of bipolar disorder. He also incorporates a subtle critique of Western drug culture, suggesting that recreational drug use misuses powerful and in many cultures sacred plants. However, at times one wishes he uses a bit more skepticism, as when he discusses the use of psychedelic plants in regard to repressed memories.
Overall, this book is worth your time and will give you much to think about.
October 24, 2024
This is a rare kind of book where an expert in Western medicine becomes equally adept in shamanistic culture and medicine and is able to stay true to both. The contents are a string of colorful, descriptive case histories that stretch over the long career of the author. He doesn't try to sugar coat the ayuasca experience - the stories of these people are extcruciating and there are no Disney-style endings with everyone living happily ever after. I felt like a fly on the wall getting to experience something that is otherwise well hidden from my vantage point deep in American culture.
Most importanly, I think this book is a valuable resource for anyone considering this school of shamanic healing. Ayuasca is not for everyone and these stories should help a person to confront all of their doubts and concerns from the risks to the potential rewards. It also gives a person a connection with the tools to start talking about ayahuasca in particular and psychedelic journeys in general.
Most importanly, I think this book is a valuable resource for anyone considering this school of shamanic healing. Ayuasca is not for everyone and these stories should help a person to confront all of their doubts and concerns from the risks to the potential rewards. It also gives a person a connection with the tools to start talking about ayahuasca in particular and psychedelic journeys in general.
November 23, 2021
This is a book about Ayahuasca, South American plant medicine, and Shamanism. It's also about the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality.
Joe Tafur is a medical doctor, who kind rights a memoir and gives the reader an education on how ayahuasca has helped people with mental health problems like depression, anxiety, addiction, and OCD, which is often caused by out-of-control repetitive thinking.
The author explains how an over reactive mind that is disconnected from the senses and the body can get lost in narrow-minded, repetitive thoughts.
I find it very brave that anyone would fly to Peru and risk possible side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive fatigue and weakness, body temperature disturbances, intense sweating, flowering tears, frequent yawning, involuntary body movements, and physical pain in order to bring back suppressed childhood memories to give you insight.
Why is this important? If we are not accepted as children, we will have difficulty accepting ourselves. These problems result in dysfunctional emotional development, which stays with us beyond childhood. These imprints unless healed, often lead to emotional difficulties, ongoing problems with relationships, and difficulties coping with stress.
One can argue that we are an over medicated society due to unresolved trauma. A positive ayahuasca trip can clean the energies of emotional trauma, childhood trauma, in utero trauma, and ancestral trauma according to Joe Tafur.
In the book there are many different chapters on participants mental health problems on how ayahuasca transformed them. I would have liked to have heard more from people who did not find the benefit in ayahuasca. What was their experience like? It seems kind of random on who benefits from ayahuasca and who doesn’t.
Carl Jung is quoted in the book referencing forgiveness exists at the intersection between spirituality and psychology. Ayahuasca is powerful tool in Fellowship of the River in bridging that gap.
Joe Tafur is a medical doctor, who kind rights a memoir and gives the reader an education on how ayahuasca has helped people with mental health problems like depression, anxiety, addiction, and OCD, which is often caused by out-of-control repetitive thinking.
The author explains how an over reactive mind that is disconnected from the senses and the body can get lost in narrow-minded, repetitive thoughts.
I find it very brave that anyone would fly to Peru and risk possible side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive fatigue and weakness, body temperature disturbances, intense sweating, flowering tears, frequent yawning, involuntary body movements, and physical pain in order to bring back suppressed childhood memories to give you insight.
Why is this important? If we are not accepted as children, we will have difficulty accepting ourselves. These problems result in dysfunctional emotional development, which stays with us beyond childhood. These imprints unless healed, often lead to emotional difficulties, ongoing problems with relationships, and difficulties coping with stress.
One can argue that we are an over medicated society due to unresolved trauma. A positive ayahuasca trip can clean the energies of emotional trauma, childhood trauma, in utero trauma, and ancestral trauma according to Joe Tafur.
In the book there are many different chapters on participants mental health problems on how ayahuasca transformed them. I would have liked to have heard more from people who did not find the benefit in ayahuasca. What was their experience like? It seems kind of random on who benefits from ayahuasca and who doesn’t.
Carl Jung is quoted in the book referencing forgiveness exists at the intersection between spirituality and psychology. Ayahuasca is powerful tool in Fellowship of the River in bridging that gap.
Read
August 6, 2025An excellent and accessible introduction to the world of Amazonian plant medicine and, at the same time, an intelligent critique of the limitations of the Western medical model. Empirically speaking, Tafur’s copious anecdotes about individuals with “uncurable” conditions who found healing in ayahuasca make a compelling case that Amazonian plant medicine and its cosmological frame should be taken seriously; I also appreciate that he hazards, humbly, a few theoretical explanations for its efficaciousness that honor both shamanic and Western knowledge systems. I’m not competent to judge whether these explanations hold water – his theory, for instance, of “limbic healing” – but I think they pass a basic plausibility test and merit consideration.
July 20, 2018
This book was absolutely amazing. I really connected with Jo through his story. I really like how Jo had the perspective of a western MD combined with the perspective of an Amazonian shaman when explaining how ayahuasca was able to heal people. This book deepened my understanding of ayahuasca and the work done by shamans. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to become a shaman or looking to have an ayahuasca experience. The book was very well written and easy to understand. Awesome job Joe! Such an amazing read!
June 4, 2022
I would never normally read a book like this
This is a brilliant book, I learnt so much more than I expected. It is not all about plant medicine. It goes way deeper than that. My favorite chapter was 20, I discovered epigenetics and how it can relate to you. That was a game changer, who would have known that what happened to your grandparents, parents could imprint on you living decades later. I’m actually going to read this again. Don’t be put off by the hippy plant medicine title, you will definitely learn some new and very helpful info.
This is a brilliant book, I learnt so much more than I expected. It is not all about plant medicine. It goes way deeper than that. My favorite chapter was 20, I discovered epigenetics and how it can relate to you. That was a game changer, who would have known that what happened to your grandparents, parents could imprint on you living decades later. I’m actually going to read this again. Don’t be put off by the hippy plant medicine title, you will definitely learn some new and very helpful info.
May 7, 2023
4.5 I found this to be a fascinating memoir, scientific primer, and introduction to the use of plant medicine (specifically ayahuasca) in healing of mind, body, and spirit. Dr Joseph Tafur shares his experience becoming both a medical doctor and a shaman. I’m particularly curious about the use of plant medicine in psychological healing (ptsd, anxiety, trauma) and this book offers many stories of people who found healing with ayahuasca after years of dead ends. If you find yourself similarly curious, this is a fabulous read.
September 21, 2025
This book combines some hands on experience of ayahuasca use in sacred medicine throughout central and South America, and provides several case studies involving different types of illness that treatment with ayahuasca can alleviate. The book doesn’t really waste time with a psychological history of anything but the drug in question, which comes as a relief after several similarly themed books seem to regurgitate the same information that any well read psychonaut is sure to have memorized. A great read and a down and dirty view of the perks and downsides of the drugs use.
January 23, 2021
This is a compelling piece of work. An Intricately woven analysis of how Ayahuasca, in its traditional Amazonian setting, and with the appropriate application from a Shaman, can be used in the treatment of various psychological and physiological ailments within the human. Both anecdotal and empirical evidence is used as well as an in-depth analysis on the sociocultural aspects of Ayahuasca in healing the human psyche and soul.
March 19, 2019
If you are interested in the healing work and training of an ayahuascero/a, this book is an M.D.'s account. He gives many examples of different illnesses healed by ayahuasca, intention, intuition, icaros (songs), and love. He also talks about the possible pathways of healing in western medical terms.
May 5, 2020
The book should be more condensed, sometimes I had a feeling as if the author is rehearsing himself. I would also have loved if the participants’ experiences were described in more detail and longer and preferably at the expense of the “science” part. Not a bad book, but I’ve read others on the subject that felt more substantial to me.
July 10, 2020
The book that clicked everything in its right place.
After reading the fellowship of the river I understood the true connection of mind and body. It all makes sense in a language that makes it easy to understand. The whole chapter on epigenetic blew my mind open. Thank you for this jewel!
After reading the fellowship of the river I understood the true connection of mind and body. It all makes sense in a language that makes it easy to understand. The whole chapter on epigenetic blew my mind open. Thank you for this jewel!
July 12, 2020
Well explained to someone who has zero knowledge of native American plant medicine. Good combination of experiences of 'pasajeros' and theoretical background, although I would've liked a bit more of the latter. Its well grounded making a good connection to the ordinary life of western society and very applicable. It made me want to read more about the subject.
September 4, 2021
Amazon Plant Medicine meets Western Doctor
The Fellowship of the River is an astonishing book. I'm sure I highlighted more than half of it. Joseph Tafur does the impossible, he bridges Allopathic medicine with Spiritual Medicine.
There is no way I could possibly write a review that would do justice to this masterpiece. Just read it for yourself. You'll be happy you did.
The Fellowship of the River is an astonishing book. I'm sure I highlighted more than half of it. Joseph Tafur does the impossible, he bridges Allopathic medicine with Spiritual Medicine.
There is no way I could possibly write a review that would do justice to this masterpiece. Just read it for yourself. You'll be happy you did.
August 29, 2022
An accessible, entertaining, and informative introduction into ayahuasca ceremonies and healing. Lays out a good attempt at making the medical connection between emotional healing, psychoactive drugs, and physical illnesses. Really enjoyed the individual stories, pacing, and closing of the conceptual loops.
February 2, 2024
Just finished it. It was full of stories of people being healed of many diseases that are caused by trauma and abuse. Many plant "spirits" were used sometimes for months at a time. I learned alot but not sure how I can use this knowledge. Therapy and love can do similar healing but on a much longer timescale.
September 26, 2025
Wonderful look into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine from a Western Medical perspective. Ironed out many of my misconceptions about Ayahuasca dietas and shamanic initiations.
Gabor Mate’s foreword provided a great overview for the book. Highly recommend this to anyone curious about these powerful healing traditions
Gabor Mate’s foreword provided a great overview for the book. Highly recommend this to anyone curious about these powerful healing traditions
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews