Review: The Shaman

by Joseph Carrabis

The Shaman by Joseph Carrabis tells the lifelong journey of Gio – a young boy who was not wanted or accepted by his parents. and as a result, was raised by his grandfather who opened his eyes to gifts and spiritual lessons that very few of us would ever be able to comprehend, and even fewer would be willing to believe. With the passing of his grandfather Gio returned to life with his birth parents who were not open to the old ways, adding confusion and frustration to an already existential way of thinking, and an ongoing battle to discover who and why he is.

I had my own battle while following Gio’s Lifepath.

On one side, was the in-depth, almost LSD-like out-of-body detail, that was placed into every “lesson”, experience, and encounter. Although several of the descriptions and storylines were relevant, other times it got to be a bit much, at least for me. I feel that the author could have gotten the story across with more of an impact using fewer words. Had he picked out the most important lessons for Gio to learn and allowed Gio to be more “human” and connect with his readers on a more personal and emotional level, this reader would have been more receptive to what was being shared. The few moments that were humanizing of Gio’s teenage and adult years did not resonate with me.

On the other side, the author portrayed parts of the journey in a way that I was overcome with warmth and the joy of human kindness. A boy grew into a man, who despite all odds, embraced the gifts given to him by his grandfather.  Throughout his life, he used these gifts not only to embrace his grandfather’s memory, but to keep learning, to discover the why of behaviors, and to help ease the pain of so many.  The author portrayed life and even death as hopeful, beautiful, and magical.

One of my favorite parts was the long list of lessons at the end of the book after the journey ended.   I suggest you start there. Not only are the lessons worth reading and embracing, but they will also provide insight into the journey in which you are about to take part. Knowing the lessons ahead of time may instill sufficient intrigue to make the more drawn-out portions palatable enough to encourage you to keep on reading.

Overall, if you are looking for something that will cause you to think out of the box and enjoy perhaps looking at the world and human capabilities a bit differently, then this is your read.

A small spoiler, if you have read other works by Joseph Carrabis, you will enjoy picking up on the slight connections made between other stories and this one. Kudos to the author on that!

The Shaman Review:

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