Swimming with Elephants

My Unexpected Pilgrimage from Physician to Healer

By: Sarah Bamford Seidelmann

Narrated by: Stephanie Einstein

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

After two decades in the study and practice of medicine, Sarah Seidelmann took a three-month sabbatical to search for a way to feel good again. Having witnessed human suffering early in her career and within her own family, she longed for a way to address more than just the physical needs of her patients and to live in a lighter, more conscious way.

Swimming with Elephants tells the eccentric, sometimes poignant, and occasionally hilarious experience of a working mother undergoing a bewildering vocational shift from physician to shamanic healer. During that tumultuous period of answering her call, Sarah met an elephant who would become an important spirit companion on her journey, had bones thrown for her by a shaman in South Africa, and traveled to India for an ancient Hindu pilgrimage, where she received the blessing she had been longing for. Ultimately, she discovered an entirely different way of healing, one that she had always aspired to and that enabled her to help those who are suffering.

©2017 Sarah Bamford Seidelmann (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

drawn by the title, surprised by content

Beautiful book. Lovely to sort of be led in thinking of spiritual dimensions like shamans and totems. Perceptive on healing especially mentally. Super relatable. Glad to see author putting medical degree to good work!

Openhearted and Inspiring!

I found this book engaging and well-constructed. The short chapters made it easy to complete a whole story while driving somewhere or preparing dinner, and this structure set up a nice, steady reading pace that kept the momentum without my ever feeling bogged down or bored.

Seidelmann's authenticity and openness in describing her flaws and foibles made it easy to empathize with her, care about her struggles, and find places of personal resonance and connection. Her lack of self-recrimination implicitly encourages the reader to accept her own difficulties and stumbles.

Having watched the videos on Seidelmann's website, I found the similarity between the voice of the narrator, Stephanie Einstein, and Seidelmann's voice truly uncanny. Most of the time I forgot it wasn't actually Seidelmann speaking--except, of course, when Einstein mispronounced words. On the positive side, Einstein brought great energy, feeling, and personality to her reading that enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

What I appreciate most about this memoir is the way in which a mainstream medical professional has made her awakening and transition away from a life based in western medicine and the American rat race and into shamanic healing and self-knowledge appear sane and reasonable. Given my own feelings about the insanity of our nation's approach to work, living, and healing, I found this affirmation of an intuitive, nature-based healing tradition and the lifestyle it encourages and facilitates to be a breath of fresh air. I found this book so inspiring, in fact, that as soon as I finished it I booked a shamanic healing session with Seidelmann.

I highly recommend Swimming with Elephants to anyone who appreciates and enjoys memoirs of spiritual awakening and personal transformation, especially if you have an interest in traditional healing modalities. It felt like a privilege to witness Sarah Seidelmann's journey of personal spiritual growth and expansion.

Love, love, LOVE this book!

I am going to a book luncheon later this year where Sarah will be speaking, so I decided to listen to the book early in preparation. I LOVED IT. The narrator was fantastic and very easy to listen to - great choice. And more importantly this book resonated with me. I laughed and I cried. I held my breath with anticipation (trying to find times in my day when I could listen to more of it). There is a raw honesty here about one woman’s journey from the medical (cerebral) world to the shamanic (spiritual and soulful) world. Delicious ❤️❤️❤️

Liked the story but not the narrator

The numerous mispronunciations drove me crazy!!! I enjoyed the book though, and am inspired to get a shamanic healing.

A beautiful and inspirational journey!

As someone who has also parted from a traditional health care setting in pursuit of a spiritually aligned life/career, Sarah’s memoir resonated deeply, leaving me with a profound sense of understanding and normalcy.

Her journey wove a tapestry of emotions, giving me deep belly laughs and cathartic tears as I listened to how she navigated the real-life challenges that hit home for me many times.

I found her openness and authenticity incredibly refreshing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is on their own spiritual journey. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your beautiful story with the world!