• Details the author’s time living with the Navajo people as a teacher, sheepherder, and doctor and her profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits
• Shows how she learned the Navajo language to bridge the cultural divide
• Reveals the miracles she witnessed, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck
• Shares her fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting “skinwalker” and how she fulfilled a prophecy by returning as a doctor
In 1971, Erica Elliott arrived on the Navajo reservation as a newly minted schoolteacher, knowing nothing about her students or their culture. After a discouraging first week, she almost leaves in despair, unable to communicate with the children or understand cultural cues. But once she starts learning the language, the people begin to trust her, welcoming her into their homes and their hearts. As she is drawn into the mystical world of Navajo life, she has a series of profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits of Canyon de Chelly that change her life forever.
In this compelling memoir, the author details her time living with the Navajo, the Diné people, and her experiences with their enchanting land, healing ceremonies, and rich traditions. She shares how her love for her students transformed her life as well as the lives of the children. She reveals the miracles she witnessed during this time, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck. She survives fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting “skinwalker.” She learns how to herd sheep, make fry bread, and weave traditional rugs, experiencing for herself the life of a traditional Navajo woman.
Fulfilling a Navajo grandmother’s prophecy, the author returns years later to serve the Navajo people as a medical doctor in an underfunded clinic, delivering numerous babies and treating sick people day and night. She also reveals how, when a medicine man offers to thank her with a ceremony, more miracles unfold.
Sharing her life-changing deep dive into Navajo culture, Erica Elliott’s inspiring story reveals the transformation possible from immersion in a spiritually rich culture as well as the power of reaching out to others with joy, respect, and an open heart.
“The most valuable lessons learned from Dr. Elliott’s writing come from her cross-cultural experiences while living and working among the Navajo people. It is a true adventure with many valuable lessons learned from another cultural lifestyle.”
“Erica gives a perspective on the Navajo people that could not be authentic without her having taken a deep dive into our way of life. Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert is a recounting of experiences and everyday life in the beginning of tribal self-determination. She delves into the mindset as Navajos reach to the surface of a fresh new start. Erica captures the period with accuracy and detail. Her story is now a permanent part of the historical annals of the Navajo people.”
“Dr. Erica Elliott’s account of her life among the Navajo people is a story of high adventure that surpasses the wildest fiction. Elliott’s willingness to transcend her cultural conditioning and enter another complex society is an act of great courage--one that reveals her boundless empathy and compassion. This book is sorely needed at this moment in America, when divisive voices incessantly warn us of the other, the foreigner, those who ‘are not like us.’ Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert: My Life among the Navajo People reveals how diversity and inclusiveness can enrich our own society--a lesson on which our future may depend.”
“What a wonderful book! Elliott’s voice mesmerized me. For weeks after I read this, I thought about her time with the Navajos. Such an inspiring, life-affirming, yet tough tale, woven through with a strong drive to realize her life path. Beautifully written. Elliott is an exciting new voice.”
