Book 1 of 3
Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert
Dr. Erica M. Elliott
Subtitled My Life among the Navajo People. In 1971 Erica Elliott arrived on the Navajo reservation as a newly qualified schoolteacher who knew nothing about her students or their culture. Learning the language opened the door: families welcomed her in, she herded sheep, sat in ceremonies, and lived through experiences she had no framework for, including the healing the elders prayed for when she had a tumour on her neck. Years later she returned as a doctor and fulfilled a prophecy that had been spoken over her. Published by Bear & Company with a foreword by Joan Borysenko.
Where this book sits
The reservation years, in two parts: the twenty-three year old teacher at Canyon de Chelly in 1971 who cannot reach her students until she learns their language, and the doctor who comes back years later to serve the same families.
What it leads to
The book leaves a gap it never explains. What happened in the years between the sheep camp and the stethoscope, and what made a young teacher decide on medicine at all?