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

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking comprehensive exploration of ancestral and Indigenous medicinal uses of mushrooms and their cultivation, covering mycelial networks from the perspective of whole human health.

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 comprehensive guide explores the deep, interwoven web of the mycelial network from the perspective of the whole of human health for the lay reader. In Section One we discover what mushrooms tell us about how to be in right relationship with the natural world, with other people and spiritual world. In Section Two we explore a variety of diseases and disorders - the consequences of imbalance in our relationships. We also meet the mushrooms that have shown up to assist us with these diseases. In Section Three we take a deeper dive into a variety of medicinal mushrooms to learn their stories, their way of living and what they have revealed to science. In Section Four we explore our direct relationship with these mushrooms, how to grow, preserve, and ingest them as food and medicine.

Medicinal Mushroom Profiles include entire chapters on

• Reishi
• Lion's Mane
• Cordyceps
• Turkey Tail
• Chaga
• Maitake
• And many more!

This book is for those who have been failed by the conventional healthcare system and are turning to medicinal mushrooms for answers. And for those wishing to bring the wisdom of these mushrooms into healthcare as in many other countries. Likewise, herbalists and mushroom cultivators will take their understanding of the medicinal benefits of mushrooms to the next level.

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.