The Smell of Rain on Dust

Grief and Praise

By: Martín Prechtel

Narrated by: Martín Prechtel

Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2015 Martín Prechtel (P)2020 North Atlantic Books

Critic reviews

"Martin Prechtel's book is beautifully written and wise...he offers stories that are precious and life-sustaining. Read carefully, and listen deeply." (Mary Oliver)

"Here Martín Prechtel sends us an invitation to peace: to personal, village-level, and world peace.... Martín coaxes us through funny and quirky turns of the ordinary and the miraculous to leave us inspired to wake up singing to the beauty of our rising sun and live in praise of this complex and gracious world." (Inge Hindel, MD/PhD, family and integrated medicine doctor at Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Oregon)

"Caring for animals is a sacred responsibility. To truly grieve and to weep deeply is something the animals really do help us with. And O they help us praise too, to accomplish that most marvelous art of turning the grief into praising. Martín tells us, 'Let the world jump up and live again,' and he makes that happen with his delicious sentences. Read this necessary, very beautiful book, and then read it again." (Coleman Barks, author of Rumi: Soul Fury)

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!!!

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.

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.

A piece of wisdom!

finding this book is already a gift from the universe. Is reading about life, how to live and how to let go, how to make this journey a little bit more light and meaningful.

A treasure!

I love that Martín has read this book to us. Having his voice and inflection adds to the knowledge he has expressed - for those who have already read the book themselves. Such a different perspective on life and how to navigate the inevitable losses and challenges. I have read this book to my children and now we are listening - so thankful this elder has contributed to our family’s education and formation. Thank you Martín!

Many thanks, big smiles

wonderful to hear Martin's warm and dusty voice give life to words once on paper.

Thank you Martin

Short but 1000% worth the credit. I take his prescriptions for grief practices as suggestions to show the level of commitment and rigor that now feels permissible/acceptable and even necessary to metabolize the layers of grief in our lineages as well as the ongoing grief inherent to living of this earth.

What a gift…

…To have such a profound and beautiful piece of work read to you by the author who brings it to life like no other

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.

a most valuable treasure

Prechtel's words are strung together in a way that reaches the core. redemptive and recollecting.