Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time

by Kapka Kassabova

A search for a cure to what ails us in the Anthropocene by the award-winning author of Border.

In Elixir , in a wild river valley and amid the three mountains that define it, Kapka Kassabova seeks out the deep connection between people, plants, and place. The Mesta is one of the oldest rivers in Europe and the surrounding forests and mountains of the southern Balkans are an extraordinarily rich nexus for plant gatherers.

Over several seasons, Kassabova spends time with the people of this magical region. She meets women and men who work in a long lineage of foragers, healers, and mystics. She learns about wild plants and the ancient practice of herbalism that makes use of them, and she experiences a symbiotic system where nature and culture have blended for thousands of years. Through her captivating encounters we come to feel the devastating weight of the ecological and cultural disinheritance that the people of this valley have suffered. And Kassabova reflects on what being disconnected from place can do to our souls and our bodies. Yet, in her search for elixir, she also finds reasons for hope. The people of the valley are keepers of a rare knowledge, not only of mountain plants and their properties, but also of how to transform collective suffering into healing.

Immersive and enthralling, Elixir is an urgent and unforgettable call to rethink how we live―in relation to one another, to Earth, and to the cosmos.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature, Memoir, Bulgaria, Bulgarian Literature, Environment

400 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2023

About the author

Kapka Kassabova was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria in the 1970s and 1980s. Her family emigrated to New Zealand just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and she spent her late teens and twenties in New Zealand where she studied French Literature, and published two poetry collections and the Commonwealth-Writers Prize-winner for debut fiction in Asia-Pacific, Reconnaissance.

In 2004, Kapka moved to Scotland and published Street Without a Name (Portobello, 2008). It is a story of the last Communist childhood and a journey across post-communist Bulgaria. It was short-listed for the Dolman Travel Book Award.

The music memoir Twelve Minutes of Love (Portobello 2011), a tale of Argentine tango, obsession and the search for home, was short-listed for the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards.

Villa Pacifica (Alma Books 2011), a novel with an equatorial setting, came out at the same time.

Border: a journey to the edge of Europe (2017 Granta/ Greywolf) is an exploration of Europe's remotest border region.

Her essays and articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, Vogue, The Sunday Times, The Scottish Review of Books, The NZ Listener, The New Statesman, and 1843 Magazine.

Reviews

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Какво е еликсирът? Трябва да си го намерим сами. Знам само, че нашата Земя го приготвя в казана си безспир навсякъде, а самите ние сме част от тази дива рецепта. Той не се продава и не се купува. Започва, когато парите свършат и думите се изчерпят, и човек стане това, което е. Нещо, заради което си струва да катериш върхове и да се спускаш в долини.”

——
Съставките на еликсира са героите в разказа. Това са над седемстотинте билки, които (все още) могат да се намерят в България и които малко по малко изчезват както заради отравянето и унижощаването на природата, така и заради загубените ценни познания от по-стари лечебни практики или направо от загубения допир със самата природа. Цялата природа в модерния си вариант се възприема като резерват, фон на компютърно генерирана картинка…

В долината на река Места освен невероятното разнообразие от билки и гледки, Капка Касабова влиза с лек досег до една сякаш невидима и силно изолирана (направо забравена от обществото ни) общност у нас - помаците. Последните билкари и стопани на диви коне шестват из страниците, заедно с превитите от нископлатен денонощен труд шивачки на ишлеме, ходжи, недоброволни гастарбайтери из Западна Европа или просто тихи отчаяни алкохолици. Старите традиции (и добри, и лоши) се смесват със стари суеверия и най-вече с отчайваща нова бедност и безперспективност. Травмите - и исторически, и социални - са колективни. Природата с нейните билки и необичайни форми сякаш са последното убежище, тъй като другите са или отказани, или недостъпни. Мистицизмът или направо суеверието и магиите, баенето и врачуването са единственият останал лечебен балсам. В него са примесени и парченца старо знание, вече изгубено другаде.

Книгата ми хареса, въпреки щедрите дози езотерика, защото всъщност смесва много мотиви. Ботаника, пътепис, история, фолклор, (еко)психология и най-обикновено, човечно и детайлно журналистическо разследване, поръсени с доста тъга и с усмивка през сълзи. Всички те в крайна сметка ни напомнят, че корените на душата са много, много дълбоки. Но, подобно на билките, те също са и много уязвими.

——
3,5⭐️

——
Някои от любимите ми герои в книгата:


Змийска хурка


Омайниче


Жълт кантарион

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In Elixir, in a wild river valley and amid the three mountains that define it, Kapka Kassabova seeks out the deep connection between people, plants, and place. The Mesta is one of the oldest rivers in Europe and the surrounding forests and mountains of the southern Balkans are an extraordinarily rich nexus for plant gatherers.”

I felt such a connection to this book that is hard to put in words. The author and I are born in the same year, we both came to live in the UK, but we hail from very different parts of Europe. And yet, the stories she tells are the stories my grandma used to tell of the deep forests and hills in a different part of Eastern Europe. I have always been fascinated by our deep connection to the land and how we seem to have forgotten it and how we may just completely lose that part of us soon if we are not careful. The book is not just about our nature and the nature around us but also about the pain humans inflict on other humans and the exploitation of human and nature.

It all felt very important to read right now. It just felt like I was meant to read this book right at this moment. I know that other readers will know that serendipity I am talking about.

This book is part of a quartet of books and I shall get the other two and pre-order the last one. I cannot recommend this enough. Not quite sure how this has only 84 ratings on GR but it does. Travesty if you ask me.

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine travel writing about a part of the world few readers will know much about. Though much has been written about the Balkans in recent years, this concerns a remote river valley in north-east Bulgaria, a place that is on my agenda to visit in the next few years.

Kassabova, who has lived in the Scottish Highlands for the last ten years, returns to native Bulgaria, and her childhood routes in the Mesta valley.

Her focus is on the area’s folklore which she comes at from a particular angle, exploring the relationship between the people and plants. I must confess to being incredibly ignorant about plants and herbs, so this interested me, but not enough for its place as the backbone of the book. My real interest and in the people and the place, and there was enough of that to keep me happy. Kassabova is at a strength when relating the experiences of everyday life.

[Симона · Rating 4 out of 5]

Проблемът ми с тази книга тръгна от там, че я взех за художествена литература. Тя и на подобен тон започва - с хубави описателни похвати, въвличащи герои и диалози. В един момент обаче, когато Капка Касабова започна да вмъква повече факти за билките, книгата постепенно ставаше все по-енциклопедична. Предвид, че бях неподготвена за "суровата" информация, вкарана измежду иначе чудните авторски истории, останах изненадана и бях принудена да обърна гледната си точка за романа, за да мога да го възприема и да е по-достъпен за личните ми усещания. Някой беше казал, че е книга-пътепис, ако го бях прочела по-рано, може би нямаше да усетя така грубо абзаците с чисти факти, сякаш се бях зачела в учебник.

Иначе темата за планините, билкарството, българското ми е слабост. Разходих се по едни зелени, летни поляни, заслушах се в историите на героите, обогатих знанията си, разгледах архитектурата на къщите в пиринските селца и си взех магията на родното. Отделно голяма част от главите имаха добри заключителни тези, които ме развълнуваха. Корицата и оформлението на тялото, особено около рецептите, беше като спа ритрийт за читателското ми сърце.

Хареса ми, иска ми се просто да бях тръгнала с друга настройка.

PS: (И основно към Жанет-45). Защо не нормализираме писането на точни и добри анотации на гърба на корицата? С кратка извадка от текста или нечия доцентска рецензия, няма как да получиш адекватно предусещане какво те чака... Обикновено защото мненията са субективни, а текст извън контекст може да се тълкува по хиляди начини

4/5 ☆

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Какво е еликсирът? Трябва да си го намерим сами. Знам само, че нашата Земя го приготвя в казана си безспир навсякъде, а самите ние сме част от тази дива рецепта. Той не се продава и не се купува. Започва, когато парите свършат и думите се изчерпят, и човек стане това, което е. Нещо, заради което си струва да катериш върхове и да се спускаш в долини.
А ако не знаеш кога да спреш с експеримента и пламъците те погълнат, трябва да станеш на саламандър. И загубил всичко, да започнеш отначало." 💚

[Zlatina Blagoeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Има автори, които те хващат за гърлото, достигат душата ти и те стискат до последната страница, а на теб ти е хем мило, хем болно, хем си щастлив, но страдаш по това, което и било и няма да го има вече. Капка е като бяла лястовица, но надежда има.

[Sve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Многопластова книга, която отново дълбае в сърцето и сложната история на Балканите. Авторката търси 'еликсир' (или философски камък), броди из изоставени села, труднодостпни гори и из многовечните мъки на местните. Бавно и трудно се чете, понякога с големи почивки.
Много магия и необяснимо има в тази книга, една отвлеченост, която може да не допадне на по-рационалните читателя. Същевременно я усетих някак много по-лична за Касабова от предишните, които съм чела.

[Boyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

В духа на "Граница" и "Към езерото", и тук Капка Касабова развива своеобразна смесица от пътепис, историческа справка и местен фолклор и легенди, някъде из Пирин, Родопите и долината на река Места.

Затвърждавам впечатленията си от предишните две книги - увлекателно писане, чуден превод на Мария Змийчарова и интересни факти за България, умело поставени в глобален контекст. За разлика от "Към езерото", тук няма някаква особена нишка на събития, разказът по-скоро е килим от истории и впечатления.

Важна част от посланието е скъсването на модерността с естествения, природен ритъм на живота и болестите на ума и тялото, които идват от това. Особено впечатление ми направиха прилагателните, с които са описани градските деца, попаднали в планината - разглезени, мудни/недвижещи се и това, което ми остана в главата - страхливи. Мисля активно за стила си на родителстване.

Както в "Граница", мистичната част от повествованието е сладко-лепкава за моя вкус, но това не омаловажава приноса на Капка Касабова да документира, разкаже и сподели духа на мястото, напротив - отразява го правдиво.

През цялото време си мислех, а чета и в коментарите тук, че книгата е добър посланик на България - без да я захаросва. Струва си да се прочете.

[Lyubina Litsova · Rating 5 out of 5]

For months, reading this book gave me one of those rare moments in a hectic day—just me, the sunrise, a cup of green tea and a morning silence.
Though it’s written in English, Kassabova writes about Bulgaria—my homeland, her homeland—with rare empathy and depth. Her writing is beautiful, intelligent, and full of heart. It is about people whose lives have been bent and bruised by history, for plants that still whisper old knowledge, and for a landscape that carries both wounds and wisdom. It’s about wholeness in a wounded world.
Kassabova’s exploration of alchemy, mysticism, folk wisdom and the human soul captures perfectly the true nature of the Elixir.

"The planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places, people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And this has little to do with success as we have defined it.
David Orr, ecologist

We need a revolution. It begins with falling in love with the Earth again. There is no difference between healing the Earth and healing ourselves.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth

‘No, we’re not afraid of death,’ they said when I mentioned the pandemic, by then in its first season. ‘We get together and enjoy our little selves.’

Something about them was so damaged it walked everywhere with them.

To be cared for in a careless world.

In folk stories when your voice is denied, you dig a hole and shout your truth into it.

‘Where there is love, there is no need for power. Where power predominates, love cannot thrive,’ Carl Jung wrote. It is true on a small scale in families and on a large scale everywhere.

I can’t tell you what elixir is. You have to search for it yourself. All I know is that our Earth makes it in her cauldron, ceaselessly, everywhere and you are a part of the crazy recipe. You can’t buy it or sell it. It begins when money and words run out and you become what you are, something worth scaling peaks and vales for." Kapka Kassabova

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, descriptive writing that portrays our links to nature so lovingly.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The meadow was strewn with yarrow. As the moon rose and the forest became black, the yarrow turned a colour I’d never seen before- a fluorescent white that glowed. They glowed so that you could walk without a torch. I saw how a single yarrow plant had 128 chemical components. I saw how this kind of white had staunched the blood of soldiers and women for thousands of years. The yarrow glowed like the stars above which suddenly appeared in their millions. The yarrow was stardust. The meadow was the cosmos. We were spinning upside down. The earth was a suspended garden.”


The breadth of this book is astonishing. I have never been to this part of the world and my knowledge of its history (before reading this book) was hazy at best. Reading this book was such an enjoyable experience, it was like being pulled up out of my corner of the world and really getting a glimpse into lives that are worlds away. There were passages of the book that went over my head, and I think that would be the case for anyone reading the book because it’s just so vast - from politics, military history, ancient history, herbal lore, spiritual practices, nature writing, human interest - there’s honestly something for everyone in this book. I have to admit I have quite an established interest in herbal lore, folk magic practices and spirituality so I loved how much of this was included in the book though I can understand how it might be off putting for people who aren’t as interested in these topics (though if ever there was a book to get you interested this would be a pretty good starting point!)

I came to care deeply about many of the people mentioned throughout this book and I’m so grateful for the intimacy Kassabova clearly establishes with the places and people she writes about. I felt the wisdom and insights gained from lifestyles and histories I may never encounter first hand myself, as if I were a fly on the wall to conversations I would never realistically get to hear. If that’s not the magic of literature and the great gift of reading incredibly thoughtful writing then I don’t know what is.

I hope to read more of her work, I found her writing to be transportive, insightful and nourishing.

[p. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this in the bookshops when it came out - it was the Bulgarian name that first attracted my attention. And I was saddened to find out that Kassabove had, at this point, been an established travel writer, published internationally, but apparently not getting nearly enough acnowledgement in Bulgaria.

Travel writing about Eastern Europe is tricky; a lot of authors love to frame anything they see or experience there as having been "hidden behind the Iron Curtain". Local authors then have to be careful with over-romanticising the places they are intimately familiar with. I felt like Kassabova managed to strike a great balance between the two. The book is still, obviously, written for a non-Bulgarian audience and a Western one at that. Yet - and in spite of its somewhat mystic topic - it never feels exploitative or leaning too heavily into mysticism.

However, I must admit I might be biased. I had not made the connection picking this up but I realised that my Mum is originally from one of the villages mentioned (but not explored in detail) in the book. We have only ever visited once; but I have grown up in a neighbouring mountaneous region, I am still familiar with many of those sights and this type of life. And perhaps the book played a little bit too much on my own nostalgia for my childhood because something about it really got to me, really touched me. To me, this was a powerful piece of writing.

[Adriana]

На 1/3 от книгата се отказвам да я дочета. Капка Касабова има чудесен и интелигентен стил, подплатен с респектиращо богат език. Разказът е пълен с деликатни прозрения и човешки мъдрости, събрани от планини и полета, по-големи и устойчиви от всички дребни циркове на режими, войни, идеологии и подобни. Разговорите й с местни родопчани, примесени с фактологически препратки и предавани от поколенията легенди, обрисуват автентична и жива картина.
И все пак тази книга не ми потръгна. Може би, защото я възприех по-скоро като един умело списан журналистически обзор. Верен на подхода на Капка Касабова и в "Граница", посветена на Странджа, този стил ме мъчи, спъва, неувлича... Или е просто за някой друг път, в някой друг момент.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that this book wasn't really for me. The connection between place, people and plants was fascinating but it was a bit too heavy on the people and herbal medicine bits for me. I think it would've also helped if I had known the region better but that is my own personal shortcoming. It is nevertheless a fascinating read which deeply explores how places shape us and how parts of our past are forgotten but can still be rediscovered.

[Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fine autobiographical travel writing from Kassabova, telling stories from southern Bulgaria, journeys into areas where herbs are still harvested by hand. There is a story here, it’s meandering, so you have to be patient, but there are beautiful descriptions in gorgeous prose, visions of nature that lift you up, even as they remind you of the industrial destruction of the wild.

[Andy Helliwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kapka Kassabova's writing and this did not disappoint. Subtle and elegiac, on one level a story of life among herbalists in rural Bulgaria but on another a quite profound meditation on the nature of knowledge, our relationship with the land and each other, and change and loss. Wonderful.

[Emanouela Krasteva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elixir feels like an incredible sequel to "Border". If you want to learn about plants, where to find them, and how to use them, there are probably better books to help you with that. While there is plenty of information about the collection of medicinal plants in Bulgaria, the book focuses more on encounters with people who collect them, scattered around the valley of river Mesta, typically Pomaks.
A big portion of "Elixir" covers botanical magic and traditions in the region, some of which you might hear your great-grandma talking about. It's definitely an interesting read, albeit not for everyone. It's on my list to read again (and that says something, I rarely read a book twice).

[Katrina Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enchantingly written travel memoir into the Mesta valley of Bulgaria where Kapka discovers the legends, foragers, traders, users and plants that tell her the social history of this conflict and religion-torn community. She discusses the disenchantment with the natural world that separates people now more than ever from an inherent understanding and faith in herbalism. The sense of place, wonder, mysticism and awe created a beautiful atmosphere to this read that I couldn't help but linger over.

[Jason Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book it takes you on a magical journey, like being in a dream state. Beautifully written , thoroughly researched, left me wanting to explore th3 hidden valleys of Bulgaria and get more intimate with my local healing herbs!

[Bryn Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally nice, a interesting insight into Bulgaria but didn’t have a coherent storyline/point that I was able to follow (maybe just me?).

[Megan Walton · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - not my thing

[Mihail · Rating 4 out of 5]

важна книга; и няма какво повече да кажа

[Grom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm typically very far away from many of the themes of this book although I've had my glimpses of being close to nature and feeling adequate about it. I've been lucky enough to have lived in a small house and spent most of my childhood exploring the outside. I've always felt slightly bitter about the huge contrast between now and then.

Many of the themes in this book I'd usually quickly consider esoteric, irrelevant in today's world of many safe places, the biggest one being our grounding science. I would even be considerably irritated to hear about such nonsense. But to my surprise, I somehow managed to go through this book in a very balanced way, almost receptive. I accepted that all of this makes - all the concepts, beliefs, and nature a natural and logical part of people's lives and it's hard to imagine it any other way.

Kapka is extremely good at remaining neutral despite her obvious emotions and her devotion to becoming a part of this world at least for a little bit. She always offers a very elegant critique of past and current political events that have stolen so much from all of us, letting the stories show us the truth.

Overall, this book encouraged me that I still have the right to be part of nature - not feel like an intruder all the time and keep myself shut in my little concrete box. I'll do my best to go back more often and maybe recognize some of the herbs and flowers.

[Ash Stockman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been a DNF but I forced myself to stick it out to the end. Part travelogue and history, this mostly focuses on herbal remedies the author learns about while holidaying in her native Bulgaria. If it had lessened (or skipped entirely) the traditional medicine bits I would have enjoyed this a lot more. There were also a few occasions where the author suggests neurodivergence is something that should be ‘cured’ which just felt gross.

[Silvie Bonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Around The World: Bulgaria

[Elina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently reading this book, towards the end of it and I have mixed feelings.

I bought it because I saw she mentions briefly one of the villages where my family has a house.
First of all, I must largely disagree with the sense of guilt she puts into the christian part of our society implied in this book - towards our muslim community, the pomaks. Me and my family have a house in one of the villages she mentions briefly in the first chapter of this book. Albeit not being from there, I have spent every summer of my childhood in this village - for a few weeks at a time and also as an adult have visited on multiple occasions. We (my family is christian) have met many pomaks (those muslim people from her book), we have friends of them, and in fact, there IS NOT such thing as "them and us". We are "we". They are Bulgarians like us, a completely equal part of the society.

The guilt Kapka Kassabova implies is that somehow, we, the christians, have mistreated them, the muslims and have taken advantage of them and their innocence and somewhat mystical existence. Is that to cover the actual truth that we know very well, that the communist leaders are THE ONLY ones who did that by oppressing not only pomaks or bulgarian turks, but also regular christians from our country along with basically anybody else which simply opposed to the communist regime??? I feel that in fact, she is the one to draw a line between the christian and the muslim part of the people...Is it really there? I say no...we live extremely well together and what could divide is just the equally difficult life we live. The fat lie from this book, that around the First world war the christian Bulgarians have tortured muslim Bulgarians must lie on the author's conscience.

I refuse to take guilt on that as I have lived alongside with pomaks. While she hasn't. She has been living abroad for the last 35-40 years of her life and just coming and spending a few months with them doesn't make up for the rest of the time. She'd be better off writing about them herbs and their effect, this is for me only valuable part of this book. The credit I give her is that she's gone to talk to those people and take interest. But that I have bought from those same regions spoiled old beans from a random mister along the road like in the book - is true. But let them be angels if this is what she wants them to be.

[Milouch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Raaaah, mais cette purge !!
Alors entendons-nous bien, j'adore le travail de Kassabova. Lisière était une méga-claque et clairement, c'est à mon sens une incroyable autrice qui mélange géographie, histoire politique et relations familiale.
Mais la, je dis non !
Ce bouquin est un ramassis de pseudo croyance et de discours qui m'ont fait craindre une glissade complotiste à chaque changement de chapitre. Et quand je parle de pseudo croyance, je ne parle pas de gens qui ont quelques croyance un peu ésotérique ou de gens qui font un peu d'herboristerie du genre : faires des petites tisanes d'acoquillé millefeuille pour soulager les douleurs menstruelle mais je parle :
d'iridologie (observation de l'iris)
Lieu magique avec des énergies...
Soigner un cancer avec une énorme tumeur avec des plantes
Ecopsychologie...
Naturopathie

Et on peu parler de ces sujets hein, zéro soucis mais la c'est fais avec une complaisance totale et souvent présenté comme des méthodes super valable.. il n'y a aucun recul, aucune analyse, tout est mis sur le même plan et le livre a vraiment cette vibe de conseil d'herboristerie...
Tout ça écrit pendant le COVID donc on sent les piques contre les vaccins distillé avec la subtilité d'un buldozer.
Bon et en plus, tout ces trucs pseudo-scientifique mêlé au texte font qu'il est super long et super relou... Franchement, je me suis donné pour le finir alors que bon, j'en avais de moins en moins envie... (Oui je suis toute entière dévouée à cette critique et à pelleter mon propre sel sur les plages de mon ennuie)

Je suis en colère et je suis très triste parce que vraiment y'avais de très belle chose a raconter sur la gestion des plantes à travers l'europe (et Kassabova le fait un peu) Il y avait également des trucs super intéressant à dire sur les comunautés Pomak de Bulgarie et leurs (non) intégrations dans le monde soviétique bulgare
(et Kassabova le fait un peu, mais mal cette fois-ci d'après ce que j'ai pu lire)

Mais la je ne peux pas laisser autant de discours fumeux sur le corps et la médecine. Et je suis aussi atterrée qu'aussi peu de critique que j'ai pu lire parle de ce discours qui est à mon sens TRES problématique.

Je le rajoute parce qu'on est plus à ça près mais alors que je finissais le livre il est revenu me schlasser avec un ultime récit de tentative de viol que la narratrice défend Mais où est-on ???!!
Et ce truc a reçu le prix Nicolas Bouvier...

[Ondrej Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time the newspaper I read online ran a blog by their readers where anyone could contribute. Among the several of my favourites was a young lady doing a kind of poetic travel writing about countries poorer than where I came from. Despite her being deeply religious - which influenced her writing heavily - and me finding all things religion ridiculous, I enjoyed her writing thanks to the near poetry she used to talk about the people and the nature and the landscapes and all that. I felt a similar thing with Kapka Kassabova in Elixir. Despite alternative medicine being something I approach in my full Tim Minchin mode, reading about people gathering herbs in valleys of southern Bulgaria, I didn't mind that I ultimately find all this to be more or less complete quackery.

Even though I personally find the notion of someone living in the Scottish Highlands wanting to leave for prolonged periods of time damn near blasphemous, I'm willing to allow other people have their preferences (and, perhaps, mortgage won't pay itself and you have to write about what you know). Kapka Kassabova's whole series on the southern Balkans to me offers a nice contrast between the mysteries of the traditional life in the region, how they clashed with the communist strict materialism, and what it evolved into today. In Elixir, this is viewed in the context of natural medicine, healers, and things related. You get images of the locals making a living by gathering herbs and roots to be resold for insane markups further west, you get the slowly encroaching capitalism of hotels and resorts using the local health myths, you get the fight between the traditional and the modern... you get all you got in the previous two books (Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe and To the Lake: A Balkan Journey of War and Peace) from a new perspective. If you enjoyed those, you won't go wrong here!

[Светослава Димитрова · Rating 5 out of 5]

Първата ми среща с Капка Касабова и вече знам, няма да е последната. Този Еликсир живее в мен, дивото, натурално, самобитно, балканско... Планината, реката, гората и въздуха, флората и фауната им и хората, които говорят на техния език, безценно. Вървя по стъпките и, чувам я и чувствам и искам още и още. Омайностите на слетия с природата. Лудост ли е различността или неразбраност? Можеш ли да слушаш и да разбираш, слушай и учи, не можеш ли, не съди. Любов ми е тази книга.
"Реката беше там, дори, когато не се виждаше. Щом ми станеше тъжно, сядах там, където течението е бързо, и я гледах как препуска към морето, докато не ме огладеше като камъче. Всичко изтича."
"-Трябва да си оставяме хората и нещата да си ръждясват както искат. - Поетът ми подаде връзка пресен рига. - Без да се сърдим на никого.
И да си оставяме място за радост, независимо какво става край нас, допълни."
" Може би затова съм толкова щастлива по Места. И до Шотландската си река. Защото не се налага да съм някой друг, освен тоя, който тука е роден и тука ще умре. "
" Ако можеш прави добро. Ако не можеш, гледай да не правиш лошо. Не гледай в чинията на другия, не дръж равносметка за живота на другия. Оправи първо своя. "
" Долината е където живее душата, а на върха живее духът. Само дух без душа е студен и реещ се. Само душа без дух е лудост... Да можем изкусно да омесим душата и духа в нас, е работата на живота ни, единствената важна работа, която имаме. "
" Какво е еликсирът? Трябва да си го намерим сами. Знам само, че нашата Земя го приготвя в казана си безспир навсякъде, а самите ние сме част от тази дива рецепта. Той не се продава и не се купува. Започва, когато парите свършат, и думите се изчерпят, и човек стане това, което е. Нещо, заради което си струва да катериш върхове и да се спускаш в долини. "

[Amy Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We have lost two things that we need to be well: darkness and silence. Our nervous systems are polluted with noise and electric lights. The affluent do 'dark therapy' and silent retreats. You have to buy silence and darkness, because the civilised world doesn't provide it for free. It trains us to be afraid of silence and darkness. And in exchange for our fear, it entertains us with noise and lights. Noise and lights stand in for lost meaning and lost power. They are false idols that replace the sacred. We are prisoners of our civilisation, tortured with noise and lights, unable to rest.”

Kapka Kassabova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and now resides in the Scottish Highlands. She is the author of several poetry collections, numerous travel essays, as well as beautiful non-fiction (I guess they’re somewhere between travelogues, memoirs, and textbooks?) about the Balkans. Her books were recommended to me by a Nomad Book Club member living in Bulgaria.

In Elixir, she heads to the Mesta River in southeastern Bulgaria to meet traditional herbalists and discover a near-lost way of life.

If you like learning about cultures that have survived the test of time, larger-than-life characters, and the profound alchemy of nature, this is your book.

This book has inspired me to learn more about herbs and the healing power of nature. I can't wait to read more of Kassabova's books. The Lakes and Border are next on my list.