Devoted to Death (2nd Edition)

Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint

De: R. Andrew Chesnut

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon

R. Andrew Chesnut offers a fascinating portrayal of Santa Muerte, a skeleton saint whose cult has attracted millions of devotees over the past decade. Although condemned by mainstream churches, this folk saint's supernatural powers appeal to millions of Latin Americans and immigrants in the US. Devotees believe the Bony Lady (as she is affectionately called) to be the fastest and most effective miracle worker, and as such, her statuettes and paraphernalia outsell those of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Jude, two other giants of Mexican religiosity.

In particular, Chesnut shows Santa Muerte has become the patron saint of drug traffickers, playing an important role as protector of peddlers of crystal meth and marijuana; DEA agents and Mexican police often find her altars in the safe houses of drug smugglers. Yet Saint Death plays other important roles: She is a supernatural healer, love doctor, money-maker, lawyer, and angel of death. She has become without doubt one of the most popular and powerful saints on both the Mexican and American religious landscapes.

©2018 Oxford University Press (P)2021 Tantor

A true history and unbiased telling

He's the best source for practical, real knowledge of this wonderful folk Saint.
This is not a grimoire so don't come looking for catchy spells on how to get your lover back or things like that.
Every devotee should want as much knowledge about Santa Muerte as possible..to broaden what they think they know and to understand origins and global beliefs.
If you love her, you are hungry for this and A.Chesnut serves this up in a structure similar to a college course.
But alas, you won't learn any of this at BU...
I hope he writes more under and continues to educate the masses!

Good

Good book for for me highly recommend it you’ll love it might have to listen to it again

A comprehensive guide to our Lady of Death

A complete guide to the history and nature of Santa Muerte, along with some popular spells and rituals for the bony lady. A phenominal read and listen that portrays Santa Muerte in her many aspects and attributes.

A must.

This book is a must for followers and those who just want to know about her.

Respect

Devoted to Death achieves something rare in academic publishing: it is simultaneously rigorous scholarship and compelling narrative, serious analysis and accessible prose. Chesnut has created a work that respects both his academic audience and his subjects, producing insights that illuminate not just Santa Muerte devotion but broader questions about the nature of contemporary spirituality.

For anyone seeking to understand the religious landscape of the 21st century—whether from academic, spiritual, or cultural curiosity—Devoted to Death is essential reading. It demonstrates how thoughtful, empathetic scholarship can illuminate the most complex and controversial aspects of human religious experience while maintaining both intellectual honesty and deep respect for the communities being studied.

The book stands as a testament to what religious studies can achieve when conducted with genuine scholarly rigor, methodological sophistication, and profound human empathy. In an era when religious studies often struggles with questions of objectivity and engagement, Chesnut has created a masterful example of how to study controversial religious phenomena with both analytical depth and authentic respect for practitioners’ lived experience.

A special commendation is also due to Timothy Andrés Pabón, the narrator of the audiobook edition. His delivery is top-notch—clear, measured, and engaging throughout. Pabón brings Chesnut’s carefully constructed prose to life with a tone that is both respectful and compelling, perfectly suited to the book’s mix of scholarly insight and narrative intrigue. For those exploring this subject through audio, Devoted to Death is not just a fantastic read—it’s also a fantastic listen, thanks largely to Pabón’s capable and well-calibrated narration.

This book is not good

Being familiar with the subject matter, this book came across as a patronizing attempt to pass off somebody else's experiences and culture as their own. The author certainly loves to pat himself on the back for filtering the experiences of something like this Mexican folk Saint through the lens of the Catholic Church which is already incredibly judgmental towards these types of entities and their followers. He's cozied himself up to some name worthy character characters and only when they are in any sort of pushback will he ever step back and let whatever happens to them happen. However as I mentioned, the author definitely tries to inject himself as if he were a participant or a devote of this particular folk saying and it comes across as disingenuous and untrustworthy. And even while knowing that there is no set doctrine, practice or literature on Santa Muerte, this author certainly loves declaring himself and authority on this subject even though he most definitely is not. All of the ritual and practice is not even his own but instead lazy collected and told through the perspectives of his family which he married into and passed off as his own. zero out of 10 if that rating could be given. If you're interested on this type of subject, visit Mexico and speak to any of the devotees and begin your journey there but I would warn on taking any advice from a Catholic.

Stopped working half way through

Overall it was an ok book. I tend to listen to the books online and buy it afterwards. Based off of what I heard I wont be looking into further. But it’s a good book for an introduction.