“A true-crime thriller that will alter the way you think about the New Age, self-help, and wellness industries. Plastic Shaman stands as a profoundly unsettling treatise on the toxic legacy of our nation's treatment of its original inhabitants, told by a writer whose wisdom, eloquence, and moral courage continue to grow with each new title she brings into the world.”
—KEVIN FEDARKO, A Walk in the Park

​

“Not since Killers of the Flower Moon have I read a true crime account that is so grounded in the context and history of American-Indigenous relations and American colonialism. A masterful blend of empathy, research, and personal reckoning that breathes life into this tragic chapter in America’s spiritual history.”
—MOLLY IMBER, Maria’s Bookshop

“Plastic Shaman is a fresh, deeply reported cautionary tale of what can happen when the search for wellness meets the gospel of consumerism, the cult of personality, and the shame of cultural appropriation.”
—FLORENCE WILLIAMS, The Nature Fix

“Can non-Native settlers create a spiritual life in harmony with the lands of this continent—and do so without shamelessly stealing life and breath from Indigenous peoples? This riveting narrative seeks, with compassion and rigor, after an answer.”
—PHILIP J. DELORIA, Playing Indian

“Plastic Shaman is gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. I couldn’t put it down. It’s so good—and so important.”
—BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN, True West

“As a Yavapai-Apache whose spiritual homelands are located in Sedona’s Red Rock country, I’m often asked, ‘What’s the real harm in appreciating—even mimicking—Native American culture and ceremonies?’ McGivney’s masterful Plastic Shaman is the answer. Readers would do well to heed McGivney’s concluding invitation to find rootedness in their own land and culture, not as New Age culture vultures whose practices actively harm themselves and Native Americans.”
—MAURICE CRANDALL, These People Have Always Been a Republic

“McGivney unmasks the New Age culture that cloaks greed as ritual and selfishness as prayer, warping sacred traditions into a hollow, money-making spectacle and proving that the violence of conquest and colonialism continues to this day as empty mimicry and spirit theft.”
—JIM O’DONNELL, Fountain Creek

“This book seized me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. Disturbing and devastating, Plastic Shaman is as true a portrait of our broken and suffering America as you will read in any past, present, or future lifetime.”
—MARK SUNDEEN, Delusions & Grandeur and The Man Who Quit Money

“Disturbing and compassionate, Plastic Shaman captures the full range of human behavior, from predatory narcissism to remarkable generosity. A gripping, thought-provoking read.”
—RACHEL MONROE, Savage Appetites

"McGivney shows how the false promises of settler colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism conspire to create harmful (and even deadly) consequences. I highly recommend Plastic Shaman for readers who are ready to face our shared past and embrace the authentic sources of well-being—our shared humanity and interdependence."
—HILARY GIOVALE, Becoming a Good Relative

“This is an important chapter in the history of the modern affluent Southwest that must be confronted. McGivney is the right writer to do it.”
—TOM ZOELLNER, Rim to River

“Grimly poignant and portentous, Plastic Shaman is a deep dive into the coeval domains of medical pseudoscience, religious charlatanism, and cultural misappropriation in a country where the genuine articles are in shorter and shorter supply. It is a triumph of investigative narrative and a must-read for anyone curious about the misuse of belief.”
—R. E. BURRILLO, American Archaeology

“Plastic Shaman is much more than a story about a sad accident at a self-help retreat. It is an indictment of the cultural underpinnings of America, whose faults underlie so many of the issues we grapple with today. This book is a gift to my sister. A gift to the other victims and their families. A gift to all of us.”
—JEAN BROWN, This Sweet Life