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  • Elixir

  • In the Valley at the End of Time
  • By: Kapka Kassabova
  • Narrated by: Natalie Pela
  • Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Elixir cover art

Elixir

By: Kapka Kassabova
Narrated by: Natalie Pela
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Set in the valley of the Mesta, one of the oldest inhabited river valleys in Europe and a nexus for wild plant gatherers, Elixir is an unforgettable exploration of the deep connections between people, plants and place.

Over several seasons, Kassabova spends time with the people of this magical region. She meets women and men who work in a long lineage of foragers, healers and mystics. She learns about wild plants and the ancient practice of herbalism, and experiences a symbiotic system where nature and culture have blended for thousands of years. Through her captivating encounters we come to feel the devastating weight of the ecological and cultural disinheritance that the people of this valley have suffered. Yet, in her search for elixir, she also finds reasons for hope. The people of the valley are keepers of a rare knowledge, not only of mountain plants and their properties, but also of how to transform collective suffering into healing.

Immersive and enthralling, at its heart Elixir is a search for a cure to what ails us in the Anthropocene. It is an urgent call to rethink how we live - in relation to one another, to the Earth and to the cosmos.
©2023 Kapka Kassabova (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Anthropology Environment Ecosystems & Habitats Travel Writing & Commentary
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Critic reviews

'Exceptional.' BBC Wildlife

'Dark and mysterious and beautiful.' Financial Times

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Delightful

Immersive contextual detail and expansive in scope and ambition. A really contemplative listening experience! Some beautifully styled evocations of the landscape.

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