FACING WINDS
A Modern Shaman's Quest From Loss to Oneness
A captivating tale of a woman who, after a life-changing experience,
finds inner peace, and her life's purpose as a modern shaman
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR REVIEWS
After a series of losses and challenges Astrid Marx asks the universal questions: "Who am I?" and "What is the meaning of life?" Her search for answers leads her to a journey from the Netherlands to Indigenous cultures in Australia and North America, and to study Eastern religions and mystics of ancient traditions.
During this voyage, the various layers of her personality are unveiled and she finds peace and freedom in being her true self.
Astrid discovers she has inherited the shamanic powers of her grandfather. It takes a four-year long vision quest before she is able to accept this gift wholeheartedly and to find an authentic, down-to-earth way to work as a contemporary shaman.
And she finds answers to the timeless questions of existence by learning to be in the unknown and the here and now. She embraces the mystery of everyday life in the realization that we are all connected to everything that is.
The aim of the book is to inspire people to rediscover their own authentic self and take their place in the whole fabric of life in this universe.
The book is also vailable in Dutch and German.
REVIEWS
Powerful, intimate, heartbreaking, inspiring.
Astrid’s is a story of devastating loss, surrender, transformation and ultimately acceptance. I found myself weeping in the opening prologue and deeply moved by the raw honesty in Astrid’s recounting of how her life has unfolded in her quest for oneness.
Astrid invites us on a journey to rediscover that we are part of a whole and everything we encounter is an expression of the divine.
Surrender and synchronicity are two themes that resonated deeply with me. Astrid’s reflection “I remembered there were other ways of living my life, that it could be lived not from willpower but from the willingness to surrender to the rhythm of life” reminded me to let go.
Facing Winds encouraged me give expression to my gifts and be faithful to them.
Devasha Scott, PhD, Artist & Teacher
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A gentle yet powerful guide for the soul’s return home.
Reading Facing Winds felt like sitting beside a wise woman and soul-sister—a steady star in the constellation of healing women I feel lucky to walk with. Astrid has journeyed through grief, identity, and spiritual awakening, and she carries stories that shimmer with both shadow and light.
This book isn’t loud. It listens. It honors the unseen, the ancestral, the intuitive. It offers companionship for anyone standing in the winds of transformation—reminding us that even fierce gusts can guide us home.
Astrid’s words are a quiet kind of medicine. They meet you where you are and speak to the places you’ve only just begun to name.
For anyone seeking meaning, courage, or a return to their deeper knowing, Facing Winds is a tender companion. I’m grateful to have read it—and to know her.
Katherine Taylor
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Astrid Marx has written a story of life that is profound, easy to read, moving and shows her as the warrior and champion of following one’s own way.
A real life with glory and sadness, love and mourning, friends and teachers who show up, as Astrid follows her path.
Astrid's writing is her sharing, in a way that puts you in the moment and also allows me to be in awe of her commitment to herself. To listening and questioning and listening deeper to honor herself. Not an easy battle. Not easy answers.
Astrid’s deep passion to find what is “so“ for her, emboldens me with pride and confidence about her person and her journey. And what is possible for all of us, if we “look“.
It is a life of a person who dares to be in touch with her “spirituality“ while finding how to keep her feet on the ground. I have known many spiritual persons who have left this earth, while still being here. Astrid has found a way to learn, explore, face the fears and her analytical mind, to take what she has discovered and become a person of healing. A Shaman in the best sense of the word and a teacher and soother of spirit and body.
This is a wonderful read and a journey that you will find yourself having questions about what is possible for you. While Astrid has her unique talents, this is a portal for all of us to discover what our talents may be, and do we have the desire, passion, willingness, and compassion for self to find our own.
I have discovered so much more of the “person” in this book and a life and path supremely well lived.
Beautiful and uplifting. Wondrous and elegantly written.
I am proud to have Astrid in my life. And proud to be an “elder“ alongside her.
Larry Gilman
Leader of Mastery of Self Expression / Leadership / Into the Abyss / The Next Step / Practicum / The Purposeful Journey— for 46 years
Award Winning Director / Actor / Vintner / Granpa / continuing my own journey forward.
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Glittering lucidity on profound levels. Accomplishment with true, rare, humanity in action. Your journey to freedom and acceptance of new learnings is coupled with your willingness to divulge this life path chosen as one who walks with "All That Is". I love your awareness of Nature intertwined with your devout interaction. Life's energies stream through and evoke immense compassion for the reader who finds so many similarities echoing in her own path of love and loss. From "Holland to Holy Land"! What an expression to bring, in true Zen fashion of the Now, where ordinary life moves into transformed life. Then journeys onwards into offering what can be contributed to Life, resourcing in myriad ways, human existence.
Carole Sher, Transpersonal Psychology, healer and mover with body and spirit.
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I love this book, truly. The author's courage and bravery to go into the unknown while trusting what will come, or not is amazing. Her ability to "look" and stay present in the midst of pain and loss, while being able to celebrate the discoveries and "let them be as they are".
Connie Hardie
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Facing Winds is the intriguing memoir of a woman who consciously set out on a four-year spiritual journey, not knowing where it would end but trusting that she would be guided along the path to discover her purpose in this life. And it worked! Through a series of adventures, she was able to leave past trauma behind and step into a larger reality, enabling her to apply her natural gifts to their intended purpose and find the meaning of her existence.
Wouldn’t we all love to make the same discovery? There are lessons here for the rest of us, stumbling along our own rocky pathways: to trust the process and to be ready to accept the help that will be offered when we determine to find our own true identities. This book is well worth the read as it will inspire and remind the reader that we have not been left on this earth to struggle alone. Powerful comfort indeed.
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In Facing Winds, we learn how Astrid is suddenly thrust into a life-altering path of loss, grief, healing, spiritual seeking after the sudden death of her husband. She takes us with her around the world as she learns to accept the natural gifts she inherited from her grandfather – learning from Indigenous cultures, her guides, and the many kindred spirits she meets along the way.
Facing Winds is a pleasure to read, an interesting story about transformation, healing, and keeping ancient traditions alive in the modern world.
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A rich tapestry of beautiful imagery tells this true story of love, loss, and rebirth.
The author gives a very accurate account of ceremonies and shares deeply from her heart. It is both educational and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Megan Saint-Marie
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