Rooting the Soul

“Rooting the Soul” will discuss a psycho-spiritual illness prominent in Latin America: susto. (In the West, susto loosely parallels post-traumatic stress disorder.) Susto is often treated using plant medicines and other earth-based materials. Myriam Gurba will discuss the ways that susto has manifested in her life and how it shaped the writing of Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings. She will also discuss how transforming her relationship to land and rekindling her relationship to Indigenous nations helped to repair her experience of susto. California native plants and animals will be central to this conversation. Native lands occupied by the settler colonial state of Mexico will also be part of this conversation. Program participants will be encouraged to engage in personal storytelling.

About the Speaker

MYRIAM GURBA is the author of several books, including Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings. Her writing has been published by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Paris Review. She is part of the movement to end gender-based violence. She enjoys coffee, dirt, and freedom