Annette McGivney: Plastic Shaman Book Tour

Bears Ears Education Center is thrilled to present journalist and author Annette McGivney, who is touring the country for her latest book Plastic Shaman: The True Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America's Misguided Quest for Wellness, releasing this month from Torrey House Press. Join us Friday, September 25 at 6pm to hear her share about this new work, and get a copy signed by the author.

Plastic Shaman is a gripping true crime investigation into the booming $2 trillion wellness industry where promises of spiritual awakening and financial success often mask dangerous practices underpinned by cultural appropriation and commodification of nature. Among her examples is the October 2009 tragedy of a wellness retreat in Sedona, Arizona, led by a celebrity self-help guru, in which three attendees died. Annette McGivney explores this world, exposing the manipulation and greed that allow charismatic influencers to prey on vulnerable people in search of happiness and healing—no matter the cost.

About Annette McGivney 

Annette McGivney is an award-winning writer who has been drawn to remote, wild places her entire life. Through her work as a writer, educator and speaker she seeks to inspire others to connect with the natural environment and protect wilderness. Annette won the National Outdoor Book Award in October 2018 for her book Pure Land: A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures, and the Search for Heaven on Earth. Annette is the author of five nonfiction books and writes frequently for The Guardian, Outside, Arizona Highways and Backpacker. She is also a professor emeritus in Journalism at Northern Arizona University where she taught for two decades.

This event is free and open to the public at the Bears Ears Education Center, 567 W Main St in Bluff, UT.