The Mycelial Healer - by Katherine Parker & Christopher Parker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking and accessible exploration of ancestral and Indigenous medicinal uses of mushrooms and their cultivation.

Fungi are the Alpha and Omega of this planet. Through their connections to the rock, soil, air, water, plants, animals, and humans, fungi hold our ecosystems together. They carry medicinal compounds that can be isolated and studied by scientists, and they carry something less available to scientific study--something ineffable known by many Indigenous peoples. Fungi carry a vibration of connection, a way of being in the world.

This insightful and practical guide for the lay reader explores the deep, interwoven web of the mycelial network from the perspective of whole human health. In Chapter One, we discover what mushrooms tell us about how to be in right relationship with the natural world, with other people, and with the spiritual world. In the chapters that follow, we explore our direct relationship with these mushrooms, with detailed information on how to grow them in both outdoor and indoor settings. We also learn how to preserve and ingest mushrooms as food and medicine. In the book's final chapter, we take a deeper dive into fourteen species of medicinal mushrooms to learn their stories, their way of living, and what they have revealed to science.

Medicinal Mushroom Profiles include:

Cordyceps - Amadou - Birch Polypore - Reishi - Maitake - Lion's Mane - Chaga - Milky Cap - Shiitake - Medicinal Molds - Oyster - Psychoactive Mushrooms - Split Gill - Turkey Tail

The Mycelial Healer is for readers who have been failed by the conventional healthcare system and are turning to medicinal mushrooms for answers, as well as herbalists and mushroom cultivators inspired to take their understanding of the medicinal benefits of mushrooms to the next level.

Review Quotes

"A fantastic addition to the library shelf for growers and health-conscious consumers alike. The Parkers bring a wealth of information and expertise to this beautifully designed contribution. Well done!"
--Robert Dale Rogers, author of The Fungal Pharmacy

"The Mycelial Healer deserves a spot on every mushroom enthusiast's bookshelf. Chris and Katherine Parker set the stage for a fresh look at mushrooms as food and medicine. Their detailed, practical descriptions of how to set up a lab, grow mushrooms outdoors or indoors, and ethically wild-harvest are supported by dozens of photos and diagrams."
--Jeanine Davis, North Carolina State University professor, author of Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals

"The Mycelial Healer is a profound journey into the fungal world--blending Indigenous wisdom, hands-on cultivation, and scientific insight. Parker and Parker invite us to reconnect with the unseen networks that sustain life. As an edible landscape enthusiast, I find this book an outstanding resource for optimizing all that shady space--transforming understory into abundance. More than just a guide for growers, it's also a profound meditation on the idea that true restoration and reconnection with the natural world begin beneath our feet, radiating outward from the soil."
--Michael Judd, author of Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist and For the Love of Pawpaws

About the Author

Chris Parker is co-founder, along with his wife Kat, and an instructor at The Forest Farmacy. He is a self-taught mycologist who started cultivating mushrooms at young age and has continuously expanded his knowledge of mycology, botany, agriculture, permaculture and ecology, with 30 years of experience in mushroom cultivation, wild harvesting, and herbal medicine making. He is passionate about food sovereignty, resilient local food systems, and the use of fungi in innovative applications such as myco-remediation. Chris loves being in his mycology lab where he experiments with and expands various strains of mycelium. He continues to be a teacher and mentor to many beginners and professionals who are interested in and share his passion for growing mushrooms for food, medicine, and profit. Chris founded Asheville Fungi which provides mycological supplies--including cultures, spawn, grow kits, and tools--across the country and fresh mushrooms locally. As a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Chris carries knowledge of ancestral food practices and skills such as arrow making, bow building, animal processing, flint knapping, and fire by friction.

Kat Parker is co-founder, along with her husband Chris, and an instructor at The Forest Farmacy. She is a psychologist, a transformational coach, and transpersonal hypnotherapist engaged deeply in the evolution of human consciousness. Kat is working to co-create a more beautiful world and be part of our collective liberation.