The Horse Boy

A few weeks ago, I was finally able to buy for my Kindle app a book I have been meaning to read for years; The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson as well as its sequel, The Long Ride Home. I had watched the documentary several years ago and had been meaning to read the book ever since.
For those of who you haven't read it, The Horse Boy is a memoir of a father's quest to heal his severely autistic son. Rowan, the autistic child, was mostly nonverbal, incontinent, and prone to massive, screaming tantrums. Until a breakthrough occurred-his relationship with Betsy, the neighbor's grumpy Quarter Horse mare. On the back of Betsy, Rowan's tantrums and anxiety immediately ceased. His father, Rupert, was a lifelong horseman as well as a journalist who had traveled the world and succeeded in helping the Bushmen of southern Africa gain their ancestral lands back. The Bushmen are known shamans, famous for their spiritual healing. Cancer, arthritis-you name it, they've cured it-even when all conventional Western doctors have given up hope.
Rupert instantly started to wonder: Where on earth would they combine horses with shamans? The answer was simple: MONGOLIA!
So him and his wife and son packed up and set off to fly to the wild steppes of Mongolia. Rowan screamed and tantrummed the whole way, forcing his parents to wonder "what are we getting ourselves into? Are we really doing the best thing for him?" A large gathering of shamans from all over Mongolia had congregated on top of a sacred mountain. One by one, they took turns with not only Rowan, but his parents as well-including whipping and spitting vodka on both Rupert and his wife, Kristen. Their Mongolian guide went to a shaman and was told by the shaman that she had heard from the spirit world that there was a female ancestor of Rowan's on his mother's side who had severe mental issues ("like a shaman" she asserted) and was attempting to "pull" Rowan back. Kristen the mother, thought of her own grandmother, who was severely depressed and anxious due to the death of a son at a young age. Could it be her? she wondered.
Days later, they finally reached the shaman of the "reindeer people," where they participated in a healing ceremony. They were then told by the shaman that "Rowan will be healed-you will gradually start to see him becoming less autistic now. However, the healing is not over yet. You must see three more shamans. Then he will be completely healed."
The follow-up sequel describes the next trips, where they went to Africa (the same people who Rupert had worked with years before-he knew the shaman there well), Australia, and finally New Mexico, to seek more healing from the shamans there. The entire story is too amazing to describe in this whole post, but just as predicted, Rowan had become a "normal" child. From what I've heard, today he is a thriving young man, who even hosts his own web series "Endangerous." (Check it out!) Yes, he is still *autistic*-but to cure his autism was never the intention of anyone in the first place. His father asserted in his own writings that he didn't want him to be *cured*-simply *healed.* The books are amazing and really make you think. Do I believe in this? YES! Would I eventually like to see a shaman for my own issues-anxiety, PTSD, etc. Hell yeah! It could make all the difference. Truly, I do believe in this stuff more than I believe in modern Western medicine.
Maybe I won't be going to Mongolia or Africa anytime soon...(although I'd love to, mind you) but keep in mind that some of the greatest shamans in the world are in my own backyard pretty much...and have been for twelve thousand years. And they love to help people. What about the American Southwest-Navajo and Hopi?! Road trip to Arizona and New Mexico? Well, why not, when I've got a break from school? (Or if I'm deployed there this summer...that's always a possibility!)
Of course, the part of the world that I feel the closest connection with is the land of my roots and blood-the British Isles. Just thinking about that part of the world (and the British Isles are known to be VERY spiritual and otherwordly-you wonder why so many autistic people have Irish/British ancestry, by the way?) can instantly calm me and almost put me in a self-healing trance. Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man-those lands literally speak to me.
What about shamans and druids there? That would be the most obvious thing. (Rupert Isaacson, by the way, grew up in England and TOTALLY agrees-it is one of the most magical and otherwordly places on earth.)
We are planning on going to Ireland at some point-however, as Irish as I am (and I mean IRISH-people have thought I was from there initially), I do worry about going around Ireland talking about druids and shamans, just because of how strictly Catholic most people are. There are druids in Ireland-however, because of the country's strict Catholicism indeed, Irish druids are pretty close-mouthed about it and prefer not to be too "open" about their beliefs.
No, a better bet would be England or Wales, probably, where many people are going back to their roots and once again embracing druidry and Goddess cultures-just like England and Wales before the Romans came. English and Welsh druids and pagans are way more open about it than their Irish counterparts, I would think.    
What would I REALLY like to do? Screw stuffy hotels. I honestly would love to go on a backpacking trip through not only Ireland, but England, Scotland and Wales as well. Sleep out on the mountains and moorlands in tents...maybe even catch a glimpse of a few fairies at night? I know a couple of people who would probably go with us, too...
Could it be a healing journey? You bet! While we're waiting to get ready for that, though, I'm looking into a road trip to Arizona and New Mexico...
(Roswell?!)
Not to mention that these books are recommended for anyone who's simply interested in some serious laughs...check out the scene in "The Long Ride Home" taking place in the restroom at an African campsite!