Initiated

Memoir of a Witch

By: Amanda Yates Garcia

Narrated by: Amanda Yates Garcia

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes meets Women Who Run With The Wolves in this "gorgeously written, fierce, political, personal, and deeply inspiring" (Michelle Tea) memoir about finding meaning, beauty, and power through a life in witchcraft.

An initiation signals a beginning: a door opens and you step through. Traditional Wiccan initiates are usually brought into the craft through a ceremony with a High Priestess. But even though Amanda Yates Garcia's mother, a practicing witch herself, initiated her into the earth-centered practice of witchcraft when she was 13 years old, Amanda's real life as a witch only began when she underwent a series of spontaneous initiations of her own.

Descending into the underworlds of poverty, sex work, and misogyny, Initiated describes Amanda's journey to return to her body, harness her power, and create the magical world she longed for through witchcraft. Hailed by crows, seduced by magicians, and haunted by ancestors broken beneath the wheels of patriarchy, Amanda's quest for self-discovery and empowerment is a deep exploration of a modern witch's trials - healing ancient wounds, chafing against cultural expectations, creating intimacy - all while on a mission to re-enchant the world. Peppered with mythology, tales of the goddesses and magical women throughout history, Initiated stands squarely at the intersection of witchcraft and feminism. With generosity and heart, this book speaks to the question: is it possible to live a life of beauty and integrity in a world that feels like it's dying?

Declaring oneself a witch and practicing magic has everything to do with claiming authority and power for oneself, of taking back our planet in the name of Love. Initiated is both memoir and manifesto calling the magical people of the world to take up their wands: stand up, be brave, describe the world they want, then create it like a witch.

Critic reviews

"Mythic journeys to the underworld, goddesses, ecstasies, fairy tales, ghosts, love, sex, female empowerment, challenging the patriarchy: Initiated is full of my favorite things, told with savage grace by my favorite oracle, the powerful and devastatingly enchanting Amanda Yates Garcia. This book will change your life."—Francesca Lia Block

"Initiated is breathtaking--gorgeously written, fierce, political, personal, and deeply inspiring. I love this book."
—Michelle Tea, author of Modern Tarot

"Yates Garcia takes us on a sweeping, expansive, generous, and beautifully intuitive journey into feminine power in Initiated. She leads us fearlessly into the dark underworld of patriarchal oppression, intergenerational trauma, loss and grief, where, she says, every witch must go to find her magic. This book is a powerful political protest and a call to return to first principles as a nation, a society, and a people. Come to it seeking your own artistic and intellectual path, and leave trusting yourself, trusting others, and trusting in the unconditional love you will find in the collective soul of the world."
— Sarah Gerard, author of Binary Star

"A journey through wild beauty and deep wounds, Initiated is the book we need right now-it is an embrace, an awakening, a forging by flame and an enchanted rallying cry."—Jade Chang, author of The Wangs vs. the World

"To read Initiated is to undergo your own. Amanda's wisdom and insight into the heart of the witch is complimented by her ability to weave together a story that is also a spell. Somewhere between a memoir and a grimoire, this book invites the reader to reflect on their own cycles of life and death as well as their own relationship to the witch. All in a way that's uplifting, engaging, feminist as fuck and so unapologetically fierce. No one else could have written this story, and whether you identify as a witch or not, you'll leave obsessed."—Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Craft

"Early on in her beautifully written memoir, Amanda Yates Garcia says of her sister, 'I decided to love her forever.' That is precisely how I felt about this gorgeous memoir that refuses to be labeled or to fit inside any kind of box. Part history, part mythology, part poetry, part prose; but mostly: magic. Which is to say: this is a book about love. A book which challenges the reader to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human in a complicated and beautiful world. My copy is dog eared and highlighted and I plan to pass it on to all my friends. This book reminds us that we all are powerful with the capacity to change the world, one witch at a time."— Jennifer Pastiloff, author of On Being Human

Beautiful and moving memoir

What a beautiful story of a witch who steps in the right direction in the way to break ancestral cycles of acting out the wounded healer and the starving artist to make a living serving - and getting paid for doing the best thing she knows - being a witch.

I also love Amandas voice and the emotions definitely come through in this great performance. Strongly recommend!

Enchanting and magical

The story of Amanda’s life is unbelievable, but somehow completely relatable in spirit. As a fellow woman, witch, underworld expert, and lover of all things beautiful, this book has revived me and inspired me so much. Thank you for this wonderful gift. Thank you for sharing your stories with us.

Interesting personal experience

I didn't expect what I got out of this book but was pleased the author narrated it. Interesting and unique.

Beautifully Written and Narrated

Amanda is so brave to share her life with the world. She takes us on so many adventures!! I listen to audio books while working, and this has been a 4x read for me. Her voice makes you feel like you are sitting down talking to a best friend. I Love This Book. :)

Amazing

Sobbed and had chills and felt amazed listening to this book, and loved the author’s performance of her own work. As a witch, it initiated me deeper into witchcraft and I can honestly say that it changed me. My one criticism is: the book is written and read by a cisgender white woman with a lot of privilege that is at times acknowledged, but not necessarily checked: it doesn’t seem she has actually dismantled her white feminism, so therefore the book doesn’t, either. I therefore would not necessarily recommend this book to trans BIPOC witches. That being said, the book is deeply intimate and impactful and a powerful story that is written beautifully and told very well. So much love for Amanda!! Thank you for your vulnerability.

Amazing !

Finally a grounded and authentic book telling of a modern day mystic. Loved it and might listen again

Beautiful! Wonderful listen.

This book was so good I completed within a day! The author voice is soothing. Her life is so interesting - relationships, travel, jobs.

A profound life story with great narration

Initiated is so gripping that I could not stop listening. It's an 'I see you girl, you got this life' for the witchy weirdo's out there who might find the NYT bestselling inspo-novellas a bit too vanilla to relate to. Even if you've walked the straight and narrow this book will draw out your inner wise woman and leaving wanting more insight about how to tap into your instinctual, wild self. The author narrates the book and I find her voice to be almost lyrical. I love the personality it brings, going back to my other books feels bland in comparison.

Delivered to us by the goddess herself

This book and Amanda’s beautiful lyrical voice and the poetic prose of her writing is like a salve delivered by the goddess herself. Like so many of us, I am also desperately traversing the taverns of the underworld in my own respective initiation. This story and Amanda’s words so beautifully read by her own voice, delivered messages and reminders that were right on time and what I needed to hear. This book is highly recommended for all people, (whether if you know you are magic yet or not), who want to explore the symbolic landscapes of the human experience and it’s encompassing potencies of death, transformation, resilience, and regeneration. Amanda I am so grateful for you, your courage, and this gift you have given us.

Thank you for Your time & perseverance

An important read for all sexes especially girls and women, from adolescence and up. I am so grateful for the education & experiences shared. I wish it was available to me or I came across similar supportive people decades ago. Thank you!