"Priscilla Stuckey shines a brilliant light on the relationship we long to cultivate with the deepest wellsprings of our wisdom and love . . . This is a groundbreaking book, written with extraordinary clarity, beauty, and radical honesty." —Gail D. Storey, author of I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award In an age of materialism, language of spirit or spirits seems at best suspect and at worst alien or naïve. When Priscilla Stuckey begins hearing Bear’s voice, she is a writer and religious studies professor in her fifties. Though she enjoys communing with trees and birds and the land, she intellectually knows better than to try talking directly with spirit. Yet searching for the truth of her own identity leads her directly toward what she is most skeptical of. As Stuckey opens to her spirit animal helper and his affectionate, jovial wisdom, she begins to realize the slow dawning of faith. Tamed by a Bear shows one person responding to the call of her heart, which is also the call of Earth to all human beings today: to listen to a more–than–human wisdom so people can address the social and environmental crises facing the world. At this moment, when the future of life on Earth as we know it hangs in the balance—threatened by climate change, species extinctions, and extreme economic inequality—the key to survival is found in answering one question: How can humans live more peaceably and sustainably with the rest of nature? The heart–opening conversations between Bear and Stuckey suggest a reinvigorating of nature–spirituality in everyday life. Their dialogues show an educated, thoughtful person grappling with her skepticism about Earth spirits and gradually saying yes to a call from beyond her intellectual understanding. Praise for Tamed by a Bear “Stuckey's book teaches me to pay attention to the other beings accompanying us on our daily journeys. Whether we listen to their voices or not will make the difference in our future together.” — Daily Camera “In Priscilla Stuckey’s latest book, we are warmly encouraged to enjoy rearranging our lives to honour our relations in the larger–than–human world. This is not another DIY shamanism or self–help manual. It is an intimate reflection on listening, on trusting our senses, on being in the world. It is about rooting ourselves in concern for well–being for everyone we know and encounter, including ourselves.” —Graham Harvey, Open University, UK, author of Animism: Respecting the Living World and editor of Shamanism: A Reader “What would the voice of aware consciousness sound like and say, if I could listen deeply enough? In Tamed by a Bear , Priscilla Stuckey shines a brilliant light on the relationship we long to cultivate with the deepest wellsprings of our wisdom and love. With Bear, her animal Helper, she shares her Journey to a life of communion between spirit and our physical nature. This is a groundbreaking book, written with extraordinary clarity, beauty, and radical honesty.” —Gail D. Storey, author of I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award “With wisdom and a sweet tempo, Priscilla shares her process of trust and receiving through a beautifully envisaged and shaped journey.” —Joanie Clingan, Prescott College, Faculty Emeritus in Sustainability Education and Arts & Humanities “Dialogue is a staple format in mystical writings, and for good reason. Whether we're eavesdropping on Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, or the pilgrim and his staretz in Way of a Pilgrim, the conversations can quickly start to feel personal, because in a very real sense, Arjuna is just a stand–in for you and me; his questions are uncannily close to the ones we ourselves would raise if we could. Taking up a shamanic practice brought Priscilla Stuckey to the infinitely wise and tender teacher she calls, simply, 'Bear.' Their conversations, recorded in Stuckey's lovely new book, prove definitively that the mystical dialogue is alive and well. More than that, I believe they demonstrate the age–old power of the format itself—to draw us in and make us feel that Bear is our teacher too—our staretz, our Krishna.” —Carol Lee Flinders, author of Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics “ Tamed by a Bear is an adventure story, about an inner journey available to us all. Author Priscilla Stuckey shares with honesty and insight her relationship with Bear, the spirit guide and helper who appears in her inner world to teach her about the things we need to know most: joy, relationship, receiving help, and welcoming the adventure or everyday life. Her stories delight and challenge us to consider the inter–beingness of reality and the wealth of support and guidance that is available to us all. It lifted me, reminded me of what I thought I could never forget. And I am grateful.” —Oriah “Mountain Dre