 Hi my name is Danny and welcome to Esoteric Moment. Today I have another book review for you and that is by Oak and Ash and Thorn by DJ Conway. This book is about Celtic shamanism. I've seen it on a few recommended reading lists out there and it is indirectly related to druidry because many druid paths including my own have elements of shamanism in it. So I thought that this would be a really interesting book and it turns out I hated it. I'm sure it works really well for some people's path. For me it just really didn't gel. But let's talk a little bit about how the book is set up and what it talks about. Each chapter has a subject and it talks about kind of generic information, a little bit of the author's personal perspective, and ends in a meditation or shamanic journey. Topics include the different worlds and realms of Ashaman's work, shamanic tools, how to use shamanic work as healing, talks about a bit about Celtic history, some on shadow work, how to empower yourself, all topics that many pagan books talk about, but definitely a shamanic emphasis. I got off to a poor start with this book just because there were some bits of its historical interpretation that I didn't agree with based on my own historical research. Not all of it is awful. The author acknowledges that there are some disagreements in the world about who is a viable resource, who is not. So that part at least was decent. The author also starts the book saying that this is an individual path, that you should trust your intuition, that judgment doesn't really have a place in this work. At the same time, there are other chapters as we get going on that the author is very adamant about what is real work and what isn't real work, and it just put a bad taste in my mouth. And I felt that much of what the author was saying and yet doing in later parts of the book was a bit hypocritical. The journey and meditation work at the end of the chapter was interesting. There were a couple that I did find useful, but on the whole I found them very forced and not presented in a way that gave you much autonomy or authority over much autonomy over the work and the journey itself. I struggled with the writing in that I don't think I was done very well. The tone and just generic, just the sophistication of the writing and the way it was presented, some of the grammar even, was not good. I feel a little guilty. I want to give good book recommendations and really encourage people to step outside their comfort zones and read things they might not have. But I'm really sad to say that I can't recommend this book, like even a little. Sorry. I hope that there's someone out there who worked really well for it, and I'd love to hear from you in the comments on like why you liked the book and what gelled well for you. But if you have liked some of my other book recommendations, I think you should avoid this one. I at least only paid $4 for it at the half price bookstore, so I don't feel terrible about it. And if I ever do a giveaway again, it might get thrown in so that perhaps someone else will enjoy it. But we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll reread it and find something I do enjoy in it. Probably not. Maybe. Thanks for watching and as always, may you find peace in the sacred grove.