The Raven's Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and Their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness

by Jon Turk

Noted scientist and kayak adventurer undertakes a journey of spiritual healing Jon Turk has kayaked around Cape Horn and paddled across the Pacific Ocean to retrace the voyages of ancient people. But, the strangest trip he ever took was the journey he made as a man of science into the realm of the spiritual. In a remote Siberian village, Turk met an elderly Koryak shaman named Moolynaut who invoked the help of a Spirit Raven to mend his fractured pelvis. When the healing was complete, he was able to walk without pain. Turk, finding no rational explanation, sought understanding by traversing the frozen tundra where Moolynaut was born, camping with bands of reindeer herders, and recording stories of their lives and spirituality. Framed by high adventure across the vast and forbidding Siberian landscape, The Raven’s Gift creates a vision of natural and spiritual realms interwoven by one man’s awakening.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, Memoir, Russia, Spirituality, Nature

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2010

About the author

JON TURK is the author of twenty-five environmental and earth science text books and two previous adventure travel books. He is a world-class adventurer who, in addition to his kayak expeditions, has climbed big walls in the Canadian Arctic, mountain biked across the Mongolian Gobi, and skied high peaks throughout the world. He writes frequently for many different magazines and alternates his time between Fernie, British Columbia and Darby, Montana.

"

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love true adventure stories, I am not fond of skiing , and this book is mostly about the author's ski trips in Siberia, so I have yet to finish it.

What I did like reading: He spent time with the Inuits., learning from them and even had a spiritual experience, a healing of his pelvis that had been fractured and caused him much pin. As a result, he was back to skiing, and I was back to boredom. But to learn about the natives and the shaman, well, that was enough to keep me reading.

[Marty Essen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should see my copy of The Raven's Gift. The spine is bent out of shape from reading the book in bed; some pages have food stains on them from reading the book in restaurants (nachos and books should never be enjoyed at the same time); and the book's cover is worn from being stuffed in and pulled out of my travel bag. In other words, The Raven's Gift has been a great companion!

I assume people reading this review will already know, in general, what The Raven's Gift is about, so I'm not going to repeat that information here. Instead I'll say this: The book will surprise you. It will make you care about a culture you've never heard of before. It will challenge your belief system. You'll never look at a raven the same way again. You'll definitely laugh, and you might even cry.

Jon Turk is a wonderful writer. His words flow off the page, making it easy to enjoy the story without being distracted. Even readers in warm climates will find themselves reaching for a sweater as they follow Jon on this unusual and touching Arctic quest.

Highly recommended!

Marty Essen, author of Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm ambivalent about this one: The Raven's Gift is a gripping adventure memoir that really got under my skin on topics ranging from post-Soviet sociology to spiritual empiricism; yet Turk's voice alternates between egotistical (he mentions being a "PhD Chemist" at regular intervals) and banal (he typically eats psychotropic mushrooms on his trips to Vyvenka, and the insights don't transfer well to the written page). That said, Turk does a great job embracing the metaphysical -- after all, he is a PhD chemist and can relate his point of view to readers like me who give more credence to empirical findings, yet embrace the mysticism of the natural world and want to learn more about traditional cultures.

[Elly Sands · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing I liked best in this book was learning about some of the indigenous people of Siberia. That being said I have to admit that I never once felt a connection with the author. I did identify with his struggle between science and magic but that was it. His adventure is interesting and he had an amazing healing experience but because I felt so disconnected from him the whole book just kind of fell flat.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for pearls of wisdom, skip this one.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

While attending the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival in 2010 I was glancing through the programme and was intrigued by the description of Jon's book and how it deals with shamanistic traditions. I bought a ticket and went to Jon's presentation. The "show" started a little unconventionally but when Jon mentioned that he'd been to school with G.W. Bush he had everyone's attention. That fact really has nothing at all to do with this book but Jon used and still does use it well to get the full attention of his audience.

This book so impressed me that I was in touch with Jon directly; discovered that we have good mutual friends and the author and I have since become friends.

So with that introduction it is likely needless for me to state that I found "The Raven's Gift" fascinating, challenging, provocative and simply a great read.

As a mutual friend put it, "Jon does things that no one else has ever done before". That is Jon's life - breaking new trails and shattering old myths. In this book he relates a series of his adventures woven in with the story of a little known and often forgotten people and their "grandmother" the shaman Moolynaut.

For readers interested in any or all of: wilderness & adventure; ethnography, shamanistic traditions, modern & remote Kamchatka - this is a fascinating book. The pace varies from high speed adventure to detached observation. Indeed my only significant criticism is that in my opinion from time to time Jon's textbook writing side comes through a bit too strongly. At times I felt like I was pitched from an adventure tale into an ethnographic journal. Through it all though the rich thread of human experience binds the book together into a rich and vivid story which held my attention from beginning to end.

Thank you Jon - I look forward to reading your other two books.

[Amy Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting glimpse into the culture of the Siberian tundra. I also appreciated the author's efforts to reconcile his western scientific mind with first hand experience of shamanic healing. While I wished him to be a slightly more lyrical writer (akin to David Abram, Spell of the Sensuous) it is an honest and deeply personal accounting of an amazing journey.

If you like adventure travel writing, you'll enjoy this.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Jon Turk's honest voice and the way he describes his environment. The simplest observations revealed so much of the way people live, and barely survive, in the remote Siberian peninsula of Kamtchatka. My interest in the people of this region grew while reading Jon's book. I brought out the atlas to follow along on his journey. I wondered about similarities to the tragic course of our own northern peoples, the Inuit and how their culture has also suffered the 20th century. If you like mystery and care about cultures at risk of perishing, you will find this book compelling.

[Fletcher Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. I think that the end felt like a bit of a dramatic change of direction, but it is life and he didn’t have a choice about that. In a way, it tied all of the seemingly disjointed lessons throughout the book together.

This book sits on my shelf next to “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began to read this book since it seemed to have an interesting content, but I wasn’t able to get through it.

The author describes a journey through the Siberian Wilderness where he meets an elderly woman called Moolynaut, who is a Koryak Shaman.

I hda difficulty in remembering who the various characters were and didn’t really get to learn much about the Shaman, since I didn’t find the book very readable.

Others may appreciate it more.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal. Jon Turk writes with such authenticity as he explores his connection to the physical world, his relationship with science, and his encounters with the Other world/spiritual side of life. I really resonate with his struggle to reconcile his understanding of physics and chemistry with unexplainable phenomena like the healing of his pelvis by Moolynaut. This story is well written, weaving together science, history, sociology of overlooked cultures, and how to explain the unexplainable events of life.

[Bonnie Lambourn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Raven's Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and Their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness - by Jon Turk

Noted scientist and kayak adventurer undertakes a journey of spiritual healing

Thanks to a friend for literally emailing me to recommend this book and then to tell me when she had returned it to the library. Her husband had taken it out, and seeing it, she had to read it too. She knew I had been to Siberia, and my interest in shamanism. This is a big book, and Jon Turk is a very different sort of person than me.This is also a part of Siberia I had not been. I went to Buryatia, in the south around Lake Baikal in fairly temperate places, for only about 2 weeks. I would love to have been a rugged person who could adventure into such frozen lands on skis and trekking, but these types of adventures have always been beyond my capabilities, so this book afforded me a vicarious journey.

He went with much more skepticism than myself, though I had my own years ago, but am not a scientist, nor base things on this exactly. Sometimes I can get bored or stressed reading greatly detailed writings which explain bits of history along the way. However, I personally loved all that he input, how he did it, and even would have liked more about some parts. But he balanced it with his personal life events, relationships, mystical experience, the people he friended there, tragedies included, and managed to bring it all together in the end.

It was a long but satisfying read. Having spent the but of time I did with Buryats, I could relate to the stories he shared of the Koryaks. I felt a bit like going home.

I think some people might have other expectations of this book, but if you simply read it like a memoir, it will gift you something, if nothing else, some insights into the mind of someone who faces mountains in freezing weather and another culture who have lived on this planet longer than most in what most of us consider stark conditions, made truly stark by government changes, and yet alive with vibration and understanding of the connectedness we all can't help but share with everyone else in the world and nature - if we stay present to it, we become aware of it as he clearly experienced.

[Amber Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. As a scientist and someone passionate about Indigenous knowledge, learning about spiritual healing and comprehending the power of shamanism was interesting. Being a raven researcher in Western science, I appreciated seeing this species from the perspective of the spirituality of the bird for Koryak peoples. I love learning about the soul connections of the Koryak tribe with species and how survival is built on keen observations and intimate connectivity with the landscape and species.
Hearing how Jon coped with grief as well was interesting; his brain being physically unable to process the death of his wife was powerful to read through. Overall, to be mindful, curious, and present, and let the natural world heal us physically and emotionally, is a great reminder.

"For the Lakota, there was no wilderness, because nature was not dangerous, but hospitable, not forbidding, but friendly." - Chief Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux

"A person is changed every time he or she experiences intense emotional or physical stimuli. Fall in love, go hungry on a windy mountaintop, dance all night, and you wake up the next morning slightly different than you were before."

"I've expressed a lot of grandiose goals for this expedition-or walkabout-whatever you want to call it-but now my only agency is to watch spring arrive, and maybe to lie down on warm grass, and feel the sun's heat. If I am really lucky, a flock of geese will fly overhead, but I shouldn't ask for too much."

"Sometimes when my body gets tired, I encourage it to keep going until it takes me to landscapes that bring us both joy."

[Dave Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I don't think the writing is great in this book. The narrative jumps around confusingly without good reason, for example. Sometimes it feels like it should have been a series of blog posts rather than a book.
However, it's a real story, it has interesting and good information and I loved the glimpse into life on the tundra, it gets an extra star just for that. Other reviewers have mentioned that the event the book was named for doesn't take place until about two-thirds of the way through and I'd say that's a valid critique. However, it's still a decent story, so just be patient and enjoy the ride. It'll get there when it gets there.
(Come on, shamanisn isn't about instant gratification, is it? :) )

[Valeria Koopman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Magic moments integrated with the greatest sadness, preaching acceptance. My animal friends were teaching me to heal by finding wonder within tragedy.”

The Raven's Gift is exactly that — a gift to all of us who are open to life and its unimaginable possibilities.

Jon Turk communicates timeless messages from his own experiences with the natural and spiritual worlds — one and the same! Jon’s story and awakening bring us to the realization of our interconnectedness to life itself and the healing power that runs through it. A man’s love for nature and science merges back to its source.

This is a must-read book for those who are ready to start their own inner adventure. You might just find what you have been looking for!

[Caro Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book that I read about Russia, and its indigenous people. So it was very interesting to learn about the Koryak. I also thought that the book's overall message was beautiful. The reason I took off one star was because of some lines that came across super pretentious, and some parts of the book dragged a little bit.

[Logan Detour-Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful story of finding joy in the depths of tragedy, of finding friendship and guidance in seemingly stark places, and of finding true love and peace in the arms of nature. You will not regret this read.

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turk took me to a quite unfamiliar place and culture which was interesting. His personal quest to try to understand a gift he was given through this culture was meaningful though at times overly drawn out.

[Amy Noire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is sticking with me, I know it.

Why am I crying? Seriously…

Real talk, I’ve always hated snow & being cold. It’s the opposite of where I feel comfy. But this? Goodness. Worth the adventure, for my imagination. This story, the sharing of these years and relationships, is so beautiful.

[Laura Hanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the read and the somewhat sad ending. Sad in this world but maybe not the other.

[Robert Antulov · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main message of this book is simple but powerful: be present. We all need to be more mindful, curious, and observant, and never underestimate the magic all around us.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be more like a Dan Millman or Carlos Castaneda book

[Rachel Psenak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read! Highly recommend

[Bertrand Brasil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Turk, eleito pela National Geographic, em 2012, um dos 10 maiores aventureiros do mundo, contornou de caiaque o cabo Horn, atravessou a passagem do Noroeste e remou toda a costa do Pacífico. Mesmo assim, a viagem mais estranha que já fez se deu quando ele, um cientista, decidiu conhecer o mundo espiritual e enfrentar todos os seus preconceitos. Essa é a surpreendente história contada em A Dádiva do Corvo, seu primeiro livro publicado no Brasil.

Em 2000, na remota aldeia siberiana de Vyvenka, Jon Turk conheceu a idosa chamada Moolynaut, uma xamã koryak — povo indígena do extremo leste da Rússia —, e aprendeu sobre suas viagens ao mundo espiritual.

Um ano depois, o espírito de Moolynaut rogou a um corvo que a ajudasse a curar a pélvis de Jon, que sofrera uma fratura em um acidente de alpinismo, do qual nunca se curara. Turk, que não havia encontrado uma explicação racional, procurou o entendimento atravessando a tundra congelada onde a xamã havia nascido.

Com seu estilo íntimo e sincero, o autor compartilha com os leitores seus momentos mais pessoais, como quando lida com uma intensa dor e quando reflete sobre o significado da vida e do ser humano.

“Uma história inesquecível.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Com A Dádiva do Corvo, Turk uniu magistralmente emoção e aventura.” (Vancouver Sun)

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon Turk has kayaked around Cape Horn and paddled across the Pacific Ocean to retrace the voyages of ancient people. But, the strangest trip he ever took was the journey he made as a man of science into the realm of the spiritual. In a remote Siberian village, Turk met an elderly Koryak shaman named Moolynaut who invoked the help of a Spirit Raven to mend his fractured pelvis. When the healing was complete, he was able to walk without pain. Turk, finding no rational explanation, sought understanding by traversing the frozen tundra where Moolynaut was born, camping with bands of reindeer herders, and recording stories of their lives and spirituality. Framed by high adventure across the vast and forbidding Siberian landscape, The Raven’s Gift creates a vision of natural and spiritual realms interwoven by one man’s awakening.

Ah - interesting, but redundant, ok but not great. Does give one pause though, as it seems he was cured. How?

[Diane C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not just about Jon Turks journey with the shaman and the healing. This book is a very moving, thoughtful treatise on life, spirituality, the modern world versus nature, our relationships with others at every level, and an engrossing tale of one man's adventures in the wilderness.

Most of the book takes place on the Siberian peninsula, where Turk journeys and befriends the Koryuk people, a fishing and reindeer herder culture which has been pillaged numerous times by the Soviets in the last century, but somehow endures. He meets Moolynaut, a 95 year old shaman/grandma, who eats hallucinogenic mushrooms with him, teaches him about Kutcha the Raven, and this world and the Other World. Turk is the perfect guide through this community/world/culture. He believes, and yet not naively.........he questions as well.

It's an amazing book.

[Sarah Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, interesting concept. I mainly enjoyed riddling out the narrator's character, and the personal understanding of his flaws. I did think that the tale repeated itself a few too many times, but it is nonfiction so one only has the given material to work with. I didn't find the story as interesting or as thoughtful as I had hoped. It was good, but I feel that something was lacking; I just can't put me finger on it..

[K2 ----- · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well paced and a great adventure book with a message not to ignore the every day magic of nature. Turk is quite an adventurer and a good writer. This book about his mystical experience in Siberia and his many trips returning to the friends he made there and the unique landscape. A total ski enthusiast, he has climbed mountains, paddled across the N. Pacific, and narrowly escaped many dicey expeditions. I think that Deep Survival might be the follow up book to this one.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic is the word I would use to describe this book, and I mean it in many of its possible connotations.

The combination of an adventure tale (true) with a spiritual growth story is a very interesting combination.

My rating might be slightly below 4 but not much. The reason is that the conclusion Turk reaches about the magical nature of nature brought the whole story back to the realm of possibility even for those of us who would never consider trekking across Siberia.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book club choice that I found mildly interesting, but not enough to finish it. Wildly adventurous risk-taking man spends much of his adult life kayaking and skiing in the Arctic, returning home to Montana now and then. Causes an avalanche, is badly injured but gets his pelvis hitched together again with a metal plate, and continues his crazy adventuring. Encounters a shaman in Arctic Russia, mystery ensues. He writes about it.