The Smell of Rain on Dust

Grief and Praise

By: Martín Prechtel

Narrated by: Martín Prechtel

"Beautifully written and wise … [Martin Prechtel] offers stories that are precious and life-sustaining. Read carefully, and listen deeply."—Mary Oliver, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner

Inspiring hope, solace, and courage in living through our losses, author Martín Prechtel, trained in the Tzutujil Maya shamanic tradition, shares profound insights on the relationship between grief and praise in our culture--how the inability that many of us have to grieve and weep properly for the dead is deeply linked with the inability to give praise for living. In modern society, grief is something that we usually experience in private, alone, and without the support of a community. Yet, as Prechtel says, "Grief expressed out loud for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses."

Prechtel explains that the unexpressed grief prevalent in our society today is the reason for many of the social, cultural, and individual maladies that we are currently experiencing. According to Prechtel, "When you have two centuries of people who have not properly grieved the things that they have lost, the grief shows up as ghosts that inhabit their grandchildren." These "ghosts," he says, can also manifest as disease in the form of tumors, which the Maya refer to as "solidified tears," or in the form of behavioral issues and depression. He goes on to show how this collective, unexpressed energy is the long-held grief of our ancestors manifesting itself, and the work that can be done to liberate this energy so we can heal from the trauma of loss, war, and suffering.

At base, this "little book," as the author calls it, can be seen as a companion of encouragement, a little extra light for those deep and noble parts in all of us.

Turned My World Upside Down Again

Prechtel turned my ideas of grief and praise upside down in much the same way Patty Krawec did in Becoming Kin when she talked about the tendency of the non-indigenous to want a system or means of quantifying that which is in quantifiable.
Coupled with the cadence with which he reads, it makes for a great meditative work. I had to stop over and over again and just sit with the power of his words.

Thank You Martìn for whatever it has taken

I’ve read all Martin’s books as they arrived in the world. Years later, not being able to carry my entire library, I gave everything away to good humans. Fast forward to today, it more will than a fair trade to now be able to hear him narrate his own books. The Smell of Rain on Dust is a fine gift to the world! Thanks Martin.

excellent healing balm for the soul!!!

I listened to this over and over again in the hospital during my experience with breast cancer....so healing!!!

Amazing in depth

Martín is a great Elder whose way of telling stories takes you through so many layers of understanding and depth of an idea, a principle from indigenous wisdom and life.

Fantastic!

Everyone should read this wisdom based
book!
there is incredible ancient wisdom in the chapters of this book. Share this with any child friend or elder that wishes to remember the beauty of life and love.