Mirrors in the Earth: Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World

by Asia Suler

An award-winning nature therapy session for the soul--encounter the benevolence of the living world through 12 essays on the Earth-healing powers of self-compassion and empathy.

When healing is needed at the deepest level, nature will always call us back home--not only to the oak woods or water-filled coves, but to the homes within ourselves.

In a series of 12 lyrical nature essays, herbalist, writer, and Earth intuitive Asia Suler illuminates the healing power of the living Earth--and gives us permission to nurture self-compassion and empathy as forces for personal and ecological healing.

In a time of unprecedented ecological devastation, it’s easy to feel hopeless and disconnected. It’s easier still to mask our inherent goodness--to imagine that our unique and precious gifts simply aren’t enough, or forget the power of our inborn empathy. For those of us who are highly sensitive, innately attuned to the workings and whispers of the natural world, it can be hard to embody the belief that we’re enough as we are--and that can heal the Earth .

Here, Suler reveals the our goodness, our empathy, our intuitive connections, and our capacity for self-compassion are more than personal traits or antidotes to they are, in fact, our most potent vehicles for planetary transformation. And as we learn to more deeply nurture and accept ourselves, we unlock living, healing connections to Earth.

Combining poetic nature writing with exercises and reflection prompts at the end of each essay, Mirrors in the Earth coaxes us to come as we to discover and tend the inherent brilliance and medicine that lives in each of us. From the manatee-calm springs of wild Florida to the flower-dotted coves of the world’s most biodiverse mountains, Mirrors in the Earth is an invitation and encounter with the benevolence of the living world--and a nature therapy session for the soul.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Essays, Health, Philosophy

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2022

Reviews

[LucyInTheSky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a very mixed reading experience. There were moments where I wanted to dnf badly, rating the book 1 star. At other times, I truly found magic in this book, inspiration. In this book, at times Suler felt like (and described herself as) “the fool”, who enters into new situations blissfully unaware, with loads of naivety, filled with a child’s curiosity. Which can be exactly what is needed, and I often find myself doing this as well, but combined with at times too fluffy, positive, “tears running down my cheeks like pearls” this sometimes deeply annoyed me. The fluffy language on its own managed to do so already. At times, I also wasn’t entirely sure whether the way she described practices of indigenous peoples were actually in line. In these chapters, Suler felt like a very privileged positivity guru that somehow got a book published. (Oof that sounds harsh..)

But then came chapters that sparked true magic for me, where Suler suddenly came into the light of a true wise woman, where her intricate connection to the living world became apparent. Wow. That’s what I was hoping to find. Especially the last chapters of the book were amazing.

Oh, and even though I didn’t appreciate all chapters of this book equally, the exercises at the end of every chapter are all amazingly good and powerful. What a beautiful addition to the book.

I don’t know more about Suler than what she tells about herself in her book, but despite my annoyance at times I feel deep reverence for what she’s doing in the world, how she’s living. Yes, Suler, the world needs you and your work! Happy to have read this book.

[Bianca Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirrors in the Earth by Asia Suler is a collection of 12 essays on how to find self-compassion and heal from the Earth around you. Suler uses her own life experiences to help guide you along to find the best version of yourself.
While 12 essays can sound a bit daunting, the book is divided into 3 parts:
The Glimmer, The Mirror and The Glow.
As Asia describes her life in Brooklyn, NYC, to living in the Appalachian mountains, to her yearly vacations to Florida wetlands, you feel as if you are alongside her travels and experiences.

Suler finds unique ways to parallel the ebb and flow of our human life to what happens in nature. She ties up each section with simple exercises that require you to take a moment to go outside and connect with what is around you.
From learning how to create healthy boundaries for yourself to just respecting your journey in life, there is something for everyone in this book.

Thank you to North Atlantic Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Granny Swithins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this one, expecting it to land similarly to Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braided Sweetgrass, or Jay Griffith's Wild. Yet, although I enjoyed it, somehow it felt like the diet version of what I'd been hoping for. Somehow it lacked cohesion for me, it didn't quite have the heft. Too woo-woo perhaps? Too gentle? I love Suler's YouTube videos and have been (very!) slowly making my way through her online plant-healing course, and I'm totally down with woo-woo and gentle, so I'm not sure why this didn't light me up the way I was expecting. An enjoyable enough read, it just didn't blow me away.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student of Asia’s Plant Intuition course, I had high expectations for this book, and I was not disappointed. Her writing is quietly captivating and infused with generosity and compassion for both self and the natural world. Each essay tackles a different theme, weaving personal stories with a broader exploration of the philosophical ideas that we all grapple with, such as trauma and resiliency. I felt at ease reading this book, which sounds strange, but there really is a relaxing a quality to the writing and a felt sense that all are welcome both in the book and in nature. Each essay is capped off with an exercise to explore the themes in a way that is both contemplative and practical.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Notth Atlantic Books in exchange for my honest review.

[Sydney Barringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

didnt finish. didnt want to

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow!!! I loved this book and was so sad when I finished. Asia Suler is a very gifted writer, healer, translator of the Earth. Every chapter felt like I was transported into spaces with her writing style. I loved her weaving in of lyrical nature essays with stories from her life and the broader climate-related injustices in our world. I don't want to give anything away, but it is one of my favorite treasured reads in a long time!! Each chapter also has some really incredible exercises/activities. If you are looking to reconnect with parts of yourself that feel lost, hidden, buried, or pummeled, you need this book. For me, it also brought me back to Appalachian spaces that helped form me. I am grateful for this book and the gifts it gave to me and for the reminders to engage senses for greater connection. Loved it.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will challenge what you've come to believe as true. It is about healing all parts of you and seeing the good in the future. 10/10 recommend.

[B.A. Franc · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

At times, I found the writing of this book repetitive, the style reaching for lyrical but not quite grasping it, and I waffled between wanting to give it a 3 or a 4. Some of the essays touched me deeply while others left hardly any impact. Whether that is because I am not yet at the right place in my life to receive their wisdom or because they simply weren’t for me, I am unsure.

In the end, however, I felt this book gifted me so much more than what it lacked. It shifted my perspective which felt like exactly what its purpose was here to do, and for that I am grateful and would highly recommend it to others, too.

[Rachel Croce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best read and reviewed in a group setting.

[Avory Faucette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it took a few chapters to relax into, Mirrors in the Earth ended up being exactly the book I needed for a key moment of transition in my healing justice journey. Asia Suler's writing met me exactly where I was this September and October—grappling with a return to my own sensitivity as I detoxed from a decade on unnecessary antidepressants, fumbling to build an intimate relationship with the earth, and longing for connection while also nervous about my own ability to stay in integrity without the support of a rigid (but ultimately self-harming) approach to social justice.

This book encouraged me to accept myself as I am—both as a white person who’s passionate about justice but exhausted by internalized punishment dynamics, and and as someone who longs to connect with the land but often feels too sensitive to do so. Reading about Suler’s experiences, including many stories set in the western North Carolina mountains my ancestors have occupied for several hundred years, helped me to reconnect, to forgive myself for my own nature as a neurodivergent person who is often seen as naive and immature, and to further embody some of my values of self-acceptance and spiralic healing.

Suler's prose is richly textured with sensory detail and the magic of her own connection with the land and its inhabitants. Alternating between stories set in North Carolina, Florida, and even a tiny Brooklyn garden, she invites the reader on a non-linear journey through her personal experiences of re-membering in nature. These range from fumbling attempts at learning how to cultivate plants to mourning the passing of a wasp population to processing the trauma of a car accident on an icy mountain drive. Through her stories, Suler guides us into her understandings of the human experience, and particularly into how we can learn from the processes of the natural environment as we heal from physical pain, from disconnection, and collectively from the massive wounds of colonization and capitalist greed.

I admit to having been a little nervous about this book at first, with my antennae pricked up for "spiritual white lady bullshit." But as I settled into the writing I had to admit that my nerves were in large part a symptom of the binary social justice thinking I want to heal from, and a projection of my own anxieties. It’s easy for my fear-voice to perk up, and to get skeptical of any white person doing this work as a mask for more internally-focused questions: what right do I have to act as a healing justice practitioner when so many people are struggling, and when my people’s legacy is one of disconnection and harm?

Fortunately, I know that this kind of internalized punishment dynamic, even when applied in the name of justice, comes directly from capitalism and white supremacy. This fear-voice encourages us into shame, rather than healing, and pushes us to police others from a place of fear of our own moral toxicity. It’s easy to dismiss white folks in the healing space from this place, and I think important to note that an account like this laced with personal stories may not resonate as deeply with some BIPOC readers. But it’s also important to remember that we white folks are an audience that needs quite urgently to reconnect with the land, and to engage in our own healing, so that we stop projecting our pain onto others and onto the land.

From this lens books like this one are critical to reach white readers who share Suler's experience of disconnection and burnout from years of doing social justice work in spaces that often replicate the harm they’re trying to address, and who are also grappling with generative ways to process the guilt of settler colonialism. I see this book as falling within the healing justice and emergent strategy traditions in how it applies the lessons of nature to human challenges and takes embodied individual healing as a fractal of collective, planetary repair. I thought it hit a somewhat unique note for folks like myself and Suler who are not just “sensitive,” but also naturally playful or childlike, and may frequently be made to feel embarrassed about that. Suler’s perspective encouraged me to reclaim some of the magic of my supposed naiveté and find a little more gentleness with myself, without abandoning the very serious need for justice and the work of collective grieving.

It’s not just about gentleness, a childlike spirit, or optimism, either, but rather about being open to what is good in us, rather than focusing entirely on what we’ve done wrong, whether as individuals, as white people, or as a species. "The ability to recognize our goodness is essential to becoming creative, compassionate, and inspired forces of change in the world," Suler writes. "Seeing ourselves in the mirror of the Earth empowers us to take care of this place we call home and bring forth our gifts for the benefit of the whole."

Suler's personal stories spiral around her developing relationship to elements of the natural world as she moved to North Carolina in her 20s to study herbalism, found her way through DIY punk mountain culture as a tragically uncool sensitive nerd, became a teacher and founder of One Willow Apothecaries, and healed from pelvic pain, trauma, and relational damage. The thread of sensitivity runs throughout her narrative, but I found it much easier to connect with than many accounts of highly sensitive people or empaths, as she doesn't seem to have much of an agenda compared with some other authors.

Suler engages primarily with the practical implications of sensitivity, from describing how learning to weed a garden taught her about personal boundaries and discernment to sharing how she worked through guilt as a teacher skipping out on the communal opening ceremony of a large camping event in order to find space from an overstimulating environment. She connects sensitivity to intuition and magic, but is also honest about the way she struggled with her own nature and the way others saw her as uncool and naive. Though she doesn’t mention any personal relationship to autism, I do think a lot of autistic readers will relate to her experience and the need to find a certain defiance in embracing one’s own way of being—special interests, supposed “immaturity,” sensitivity, and all. Many of the lessons I describe as neuroemergent or neuromagical come out in this book, even without that explicit frame.

The topics Suler engages through her stories will generally be familiar to students of any healing or spiritual practice, from boundaries to personal power to self-compassion. I found them to be well-rooted here through the immediacy of the storytelling but also the use of poetic language alongside strong research. Suler borrows from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taoism, and contemporary research on trauma and the body, as well as ecological research and authors familiar to nerds on this subject such as Robin Wall Kimmerer and Brené Brown. I was somewhat shocked that Suler wasn’t directly informed by adrienne maree brown or emergent strategy, but there are certainly emergent strategy principles embedded throughout.

Many of the lessons here are about embodiment on a personal scale, but they also engage with our current state of apocalypse. One of the most poignant tales for me concerned the fate of the American Chestnut, which I knew nothing about before reading this book. This majestic tree would have been an integral part of my ancestors’ lives, as it blanketed the Appalachian forests until a blight killed off the population by the early 1900s. Suler describes how white settlers hastened the demise of this crucial species through ordering remaining trees cut down in hopes of saving the wood before its destruction, and perhaps thereby killed off whatever small population of resilient individuals might have remained. She frames this story in the context of capitalist greed, but also the violent removal of Tsalagi peoples.

Within a single generation of Jackson's 1838 Indian Removal Act, this entire population of trees was gone, along with most of the Tsalagi from their ancestral lands. But in parallel to the resilience and continued survival of the Tsalagi despite white attempts to make Native life a thing of the past, the chestnuts do in fact survive in these mountains—entirely underground. Their root systems persist, and while saplings now die of the blight before they can repopulate the region, Suler describes contemporary efforts to develop blight-resistant strains that form a glimmer of hope in the story. She reminds us that "magic is simply the recognition of life's possibilities," and more accessible than we might think.

While it’s important not to over-romanticize such a story in the context of an ongoing genocide, I was particularly moved by this tale as someone who is exactly seven generations removed from an ancestor who directly participated in the forced removal of the Tsalagi stewards of these lands. I read this chapter of the book in the context of my own struggle not to see myself not as a "thank God it's over" final member of most of my ancestral lines, but rather as someone who might carry hope, and perhaps a seed of healing from these violent ruptures, through to another cycle of seven generations. While several of my “lines” will in fact die by the standards of a racist culture obsessed with documentation of blood ancestry, lineage is in fact far more complicated, and I’ve learned that the race to erase or escape my own destructive lineage is in fact just another artefact of inherited nihilism and disconnection, rather than a healing force.

I believe that while it's crucial to acknowledge that as settlers, we are in fact inheritors of a legacy of genocide and planetary destruction, we also need to accept our critical role in restoration, renewal, and reconnection. Rather than replicating the pain of previous generations, we have an opportunity to disrupt the cycle. But to do this we must reconnect to the land and to our physical bodies, not simply disappear. We also can’t do it through "cancelling" online racism, while continuing to see ourselves as one-dimensional perpetrators and using that self-hatred to mask our own deep wounding. I found myself inspired by Suler's story to consider how my own role as a perpetual teacher-student, working with neurodivergent folks to support their healing but only able to do so through deeply embodying my own lessons, might contribute to this shift—not as a means of bypassing my own complicity in harm, but as a response through the often surprisingly difficult mode of grace and self-acceptance.

Though I've certainly encountered the lessons I describe here many times over, something about Suler's writing helped it click for me in a new way. One major breakthrough is that I found myself starting, as I read this book, an extremely simple practice of just going outside and spending a few minutes chatting with plants—pulling a few up from the ground, resting in the shade of others, and observing the behavior of the plants themselves and the living things that interact with them. And then I contracted COVID for the first time, 2-1/2 years into the pandemic, having been extremely isolated throughout, and had to put my burgeoning practice on pause, but even that experience contained a lesson.

Given my illness, I read much of Suler's narrative in bed while struggling to breathe and unable to even open windows to continue my conversation with my plant-friends, as nearby fires clogged the breathable air with smoke. This was a profound experience, as I'd also just reached a turning point in my detox from mood-stabilizing medication, and with Suler’s book as my only real connection to the natural world I found myself tearing up every other paragraph from the beauty of her words in the final chapter—one that engages with my personal closest natural ally, the mushroom, as well as with the liminal (or, you might say, non-binary) space of alchemy that I find to be the deepest signature of my own work. This final chapter engages poignantly with the magic of transformation and composting, and I was especially struck by the language of the reishi tree (a story I'm afraid you'll just have to read for yourself!) I needed that story so badly, both as a tether to the natural world and to my own humanity, the specificity of my magic. It was a reminder that even when all my practices fall by the wayside, including the most simple act of taking a deep breath, I’m still allowed to experience beauty.

Before this season I hadn't been physical able to cry more than a handful of times in the past decade, due to the effects of my medication. So there was something incredibly sacred about this physical release, but it also felt very connected to the nature of the book. Like Suler, I went through a time of viewing numbing as maturity, and my tears felt symbolic of a shift away from that place. As I realize the gifts of my sensitivity and tragic uncoolness, I’m forced to reframe this model of growth meaning becoming more serious. This has been a deeply impactful transformation and an opportunity to reconnect with a child self who loved rock-jumping through creeks and scrambling up trees, but it’s also been a painful grieving process. This dual nature was of course quite sharply highlighted by the blend of feeling sparkly and magical and connected to nature on the one hand, and being physically isolated and removed from all of my practices on the other, a journey I continue to travel as improvement has been slight even two months into the experience.

Suler's words remind me to be gentle with my body and with my process, but also to trust it. This book was a formidable ally as I moved through the opening weeks of what might have been a terrifying illness, but experienced very little fear. This process, of course, was my own, and rooted in my own magic and my own healing and spiritual journey, but I was very glad to have Asia as an ally though her words in this book. I may never be much of a gardener, and I'm not sure I'll ever quite find my way to easefully sleeping on the ground. But nonetheless, I couldn't help but feel the sense of a kindred spirit in her words. Thus whether or not you consider yourself a “nature person,” I’d recommend giving the book a try. You might surprise yourself!

[ARC provided through Edelweiss.]

[Julia de’Caneva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meandering, yet pointed exploration of healing in an unwell time. Suler interweaves personal stories with reflections, offer a web-like invitation for us to consider different ways of being. Really beautiful!

[Neeyati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Astral Foxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Asia, for writing this book from your heart! I feel so seen and loved and heard and I am so excited to embrace nature in the ways you so beautifully described. I will definitely be recommending this book to all of my loved ones 💖

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful lens on the ways in which nature, healing, and magic overlap. I couldn't help but parcel out the last few chapters because I didn't want the book to end. Lovely writing and insights.

[Amelia Maness-Gilliland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the good fortune to receive an advanced copy of Mirrors in the Earth by Asia Suler.

Y’all! This is one of those books you return to again and again because each time you read her beautifully captivating words, it touches a different part of you, pausing to reflect each time.

Mirrors in the Earth describes the authors journey to finding herself and healing through the natural world. Each essay in this book covers a different theme. She takes on sometimes difficult topics like trauma and self compassion and addresses them through personal story. The author is clearly well read as she frames her content in philosophy and research. I found myself making notes of people and philosophies I wanted to learn more about while reading her book.
Each essay includes a thoughtful experiential component to further explore the theme. With these exercises, I found myself taking my time to really contemplate it and how I may apply it in my own life.

The biggest draw for me to this book is her relationship with the natural world. To me this is where it touched me deeply. If you have a deep love of earth and nature, her words will resonate and you’ll find yourself thinking “yes! I get that!” When we can see ourselves and our lives in the bigger, broader perspective of the natural world, then many lessons and perspectives open up that help us to embrace ourselves and life differently.

I recommend this book - it’s just so quietly captivating, filled with wisdom and I hope that every one who reads it finds themselves in these pages.

[Vanessa N Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. Perfect.
I'll be reading it again and share my thoughts afterwards.
Imagine finishing a book, and immediately wanting to read it again. That's what this is. If I had to describe this in a few words:
Nature Writing, poetic prose combined with personal anecdotes.

[Carolyn Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mirrors in the Earth is a lyrically written book about the healing powers of nature. The author is an herbalist and earth intuitive, and she writes from her own experiences. There are no herbal recipes here, however, more of her journey to finding healing in nature from willows on the riverbank to invasive knotweed clogging our creeks, to reishi mushrooms growing on hemlocks killed by the invasive wooly adelgid. As ecosystems are threatened, there is still acceptance and nurturing to be found in nature. She references indigenous practices, ancient Chinese medicine, herbal traditions, and Appalachian "granny witches." She sees light reflections in glittering mica and tiny crystals on an empty lake bottom and writes of the merits of the small, tender, and vulnerable. She sees the beauty in a young woodland as well as the venerable trees of an old forest, and recognizes the place of brambles like blackberries and fireweed, pioneer species that reclaim the land that has been razed. There is sadness and grief at the loss of what once was, but also hope in the possibility of what will arise. I found it particularly moving because the natural setting she most invokes is the southern Appalachian mountains, near where I live. She also writes of beautiful lakes in Florida, the forests and streams of the northwest, the small lot of the suburb in Pennsylvania where she grew up, and a tiny garden in Brooklyn, NY. She gives exercises at the end of chapters of how one can commune with Nature, but I'm more squeamish than a wild woman. I may try to make flower essences, but I don't choose to lie on the ground (creepy crawlies, ticks, spiders, chiggers, or snakes!). I live in the woods and have enough encounters with these as it is. Nor will I be embracing a tree naked. However, this did not keep me from appreciating the author's sensibilities and wisdom. She finds Nature to be the antidote to trauma, a vessel of healing and forgiveness. She references scientific knowledge as well as intuitive discoveries, but manages a balance between the rational and the spiritual. Some may find it too woo-woo, but I did not, and she is gracious in acknowledging whatever one's beliefs are. I read this book slowly because I liked lingering over her words, but despite her poetic writing style, I found the pacing to have a momentum of its own, and it did not drag for me. Perhaps others might find it repetitious because of the recurring theme, but I thought it followed a natural course from her own experiences and insights. I kept renewing this book from the library until I could no longer, so will buy my own copy. It is a book I want to return to and savor.

[April Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win this in a Goodreads giveaway which was auspicious because I’ve been following @asiasuler for years now. Back when I was starting my own journey into herbalism it was my battle with chronic Lyme that introduced me intimately to the ways that plants and the natural world helps and looks after me. I could cry thinking of those early days being bedridden, nervous system on fire, when I took a tincture of Japanese Knotweed and I could feel it calming and cooling me. Then I went on to get my certification with Rosemary Gladstar’s Sage Mountain Science and Art of Herbalism course. Asia speaks of her own chronic health issues and the mirroring of the natural world guiding and encouraging her with wisdom and love to heal. It’s an ongoing process or labyrinth as she describes it. Many gifts of insight and these essays are heartfelt, inspiring, and filled with the ways in which we are being led even in our darkest moments. I’m so glad it’s a part of my library now because I will return to it again and again. If you love nature or environmental essays this book is for you.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof. This book was a big letdown. The cover art is beautiful, and the catchphrase on the front drew me right in. I have been so excited to read this. To my dismay, this book is an autobiography of the issues the author has had with life and how nature has helped her solve them in a hippie way. She speaks of animism, being an empath, etc., connecting her soul to flowers and I got so disappointed and frustrated that it’s a DNF at 20 pages in (and later chapters skimmed to make sure I wasn’t missed something great). I am all about connecting with the earth, and noticing mirrors between nature and self. However, this book was so hippie that it was laughable.

Here are some quotes to help you understand what this book is like :

“in psychological circles soul loss is called dissociation”

“I often remind my students when they leave to go back home that they are just like flower essences”

“ after my moon-led soul retrieval, I snuck in the back door of our house… I went straight to my bedroom, turned off the lights, and nursed myself in the wonder of the moon’s light”

“like pieces of a meteorite scattered around the world, our dispersed soul parts are waiting for us”

[Kim Pollack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mirrors in the Earth contains wisdom for healing oneself in the natural world. Filled with personal stories of how Asia Suler experienced transformation, renewal and healing among the rocks and trees of the forests, in the rivers and the mountains, as well as in her garden, she points us to nature to listen for and discover our own healing.
At the end of each chapter, there are questions and creative exercises for self-reflection.
I found myself nodding my head and resonating with the wisdom within these pages. Healing for ourselves, our families, and the planet starts with deepening our awareness and relationship with the rest of the natural world.
Highly recommended for introverts, plant and nature lovers, those interested in natural, holistic healing, and those in need of healing in general.
*Thanks to North Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Rosanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. After finishing it, you want to keep it with you, to re-read parts and bits as you go about your day. If you ever felt lost in the world and overwhelmed by the global scale of ecosystem destruction, reading Mirrors in the Earth will feel like a healing and hopeful embrace.

Asia Suler takes you on a breathtaking journey through the Appalachian forests, rivers, mountains, and its healing plants. The different adventures you're taken on throughout this book are an ode to the local, the small, the quiet, and the ephemeral. It shows you you are not alone, if only you know where to look.

Reconnecting to the earth will be a crucial first step if we are to face up to the challenges of today's world - Mirrors of the Earth invites you to do just that. It's like a loving nudge to meet the living world around you, to be fascinated by it, to work with it, and to protect it.

[sAmAnE · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب آینه های درون زمین ( تامل در باب شفای خود با دنیای زنده) اثر آسیا سولر؛ می تواند یک کتاب الهام بخش به حساب بیاید... کتاب از سفر نویسنده به سوی آگاهی و کشف و شهود گفته است. اینکه نویسنده تلاش گرفته با الهام از طبیعت و بخصوص زمین گامی در مسیر خودشناسی انسان بردارد و تا حدودی در این زمینه هم موفق بوده است... البته که من با برخی قسمت های کتاب مشکل داشتم ولی در کل کتاب خوبی بود... نویسنده کتاب را صرفا یک مجموعه داستان های رویایی از طبیعت نمی داند بلکه او بحثی بنیادی درباره ی شفای شخصی در این کتاب به راه انداخته است. او زمین را انتخاب کرده چرا که مدام در حال رویش و خلق است، ارتباطش را با زندگی انسان به خوبی بیان کرده است ولی همراه با شفقتی که انسان به خود روا می دارد و حس فروتنی‌اش...
بهترین نکته ای که در مورد این مقاله های مطرح شده در این کتاب میتونم بهش اشاره کنم ، این است که نویسنده خود تمام این سفر را زندگی کرده است و تماما برداشته از تجربیات خود اوست...

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mirrors in the Earth is gorgeously written and tells a story we all need right now. Not only does Asia Suler relate her personal journey so far, but she instructs readers on cultivating a meaningful relationship with the natural world. She creates a path through the wilderness, so readers can find their way through the grief of environmental collapse into healing and befriending the world around us, and recognizing our place in nature. Suler shares her personal sensitivities in such a way that readers are invited to accept our own personal frailties and see how they open us to growth and deeper connection. This book was compelling and joyful. I will return to it again and again for inspiration and fortitude.

[Cris Daining · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a lovely book. I loved bits from almost every chapter. Every chapter had quotable bits and lots and lots of optimistic inspiration EXCEPT for the last chapter. I was in a fragile mental health place and found the book super helpful for my healing journey since it was overflowing with optimism, and then BAM! the last chapter is very downcast and left me feeling down/sad. It was an odd choice. I almost feel like it should have been left out of the book OR maybe put at the beginning so we plunge into despair and then end the book feeling better about the world. That's my biggest criticism. I loved the book until the last chapter. If you're hiking in the woods and want something inspirational to read, bring it along and just skip that last bit.

[Micky Pfaff]

This wonderful book feels like it belongs to all of us, it's personal but it teaches as it introduces, it touches ones soul as it goes deep within the earth & us. It is a mirror but it's reflections are everyones. Asia wrote a perfect book that not only speaks for the earth but also for all who care to learn all her beautiful & perfect secrets. She is a magnificent teacher who cares for every aspect of the living earth & everything that inhabitants it. I love learning from her & I am a life long student.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister recommended this book so I took a chance on it and found myself unexpectedly impressed. When I find myself highlighting whole paragraphs and then whole pages, I pay attention!
I spend much of my time trying to be the best possible human I can be while learning to accept the incongruities that exist within, as they do in everyone. Many of the books out there give great advice but repeat things I've heard elsewhere. This book gave me several new perspectives which I welcome gratefully. I believe everyone would benefit from the ideas broached in this book.
Well done, Ms. Suler.

[Bree Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning took me a bit to read, and I got bored of it occasionally. But once I got about halfway through I started to appreciate the concepts and ideas more. About halfway, I was excited to read it!! I learned a lot about the earth and how nature can solve many of your problems, not just by being surrounded by it but by observing how nature turns negatives into growth. Lastly, it allowed me to understand how important it is to forgive yourself and to simply be yourself. A guide for mutual healing for ourselves and the Earth.

[Heaether · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect anything less than absolute beauty in this book. Asia Sulers work is a gift to the seekers and daydreamers of this world, and especially to those who are yearning to find their connection. Reading this book you will feel seen, you will also exclam “yes that’s me” often. While Asias insights and writing is a true gem, her connection to the collective yearning and ability to soothe the reader with poignancy is her true gift. She always nails it!

[Shayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admire Asia so so deeply, and went into this book knowing it would touch my heart, but even then I underestimated the healing that would come from her words. This book is amazing, and gives me an even deeper appreciation for our reciprocal relationship with the earth, and the teachers and guides of nature. This book will be a staple on my shelves, next to Braiding Sweetgrass so I can refer to them again and again in my journey. Incredibly well done, yet again Asia ♥️

[Johanna DeBiase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that everyone needs to read now. Now is the time to shift the overculture paradigm away from dominance and toward cooperation. All the elements of the shift are in this book, including subjective truth and animism and reciprocal relationship with nature beings and more. All told through the lens of personal experiences. I read this book while camping and every chapter touched my heart more than the last. Thank you.