Oceans of Energy, Australia 2026
Cover design Barbie Robinson, Writing with Light
Cover image Valerie Albrecht
Disclosure: Writing with Light undertook the layout and design of this book as well as contributing to the editing, proofing and publication process. Barbie was also the creator of some of the photographs and the editor of Valerie’s photographs for publication. This article is more by way of a report than a review for that reason.
I believe that Many Voices one Medicine makes a significant contribution to the public discourse on health and wellbeing.
Following on from the publication in 2022 of One Voice Medicine, a collection of Valerie’s conversations with Australian First Nations healers, this book is a record of her work with healers in Arizona, Guatemala and South Dakota, and also contains much of the original Australian content.
The book expresses Valerie’s hope that through active listening, an intersection between Western medicine and traditional approaches to healing can be found. The purpose is to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for all.
Her extensive and long research on country with the healers in this book has resulted in a rich record of practices and philosophies with many similarities emerging amongst the different cultures.
Valerie’s personal responses to her travels and the challenges of this work, as well as the positives, make for absorbing reading, not just for health, sociology and education practitioners, but for the general reader.
Beautiful photographs accompany and enhance the text, giving the reader a graphic impression of place.
Honorary Professor Janet Hunt, Australian National University and Life member Australian Council for International Development has provided the following endorsement: ‘Important reading if we are to heal the many interrelated crises making our people, our societies and the Earth sick today.’
Ieta D.Costa MBBS, MRCP, FRANZCR, Oncologist and health researcher says of the work: ‘Many Voices One Medicine highlights the vital need to include Indigenous traditions, healing wisdom and wellness perspectives within Western medicine. This book is a significant contribution for us all to see and more broadly understand healthcare and wellbeing for ourselves and for Indigenous people.’
Valerie Albrecht’s website is https://www.theoceansofenergy.com/
Thank you to Valerie Albrecht for my review copy and for speaking to me about this remarkable project and the visually spectacular yet practical book it has created.