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The Key of Solomon the King
by S.L. Macgregor Mathers R. A. GilbertThis most celebrated of all magical textbooks, believed to be written by King Solomon himself, details the processes for summoning and mastering the spirits. Demonstrates that the usual theoretical distinction between black magic and white, evil magicand good, is not so simply drawn. Included in this edition is a new foreword by R. A. Gilbert, esoteric scholar and antiquarian bookseller.
The Key of Solomon the King: Clavicula Salomonis (Dover Occult Ser.)
by S. L. MathersHow to make a magic carpet, become invisible, and find love are among the useful procedures detailed in this famous book of magic. Reputedly written by King Solomon himself, this major text of Western ritual magic contains chants, prayers, and instructions — both general and specific — on trafficking with the spirit world.Editor and translator S. L. MacGregor Mathers was a leader of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an influential group of magicians and mystics whose members included Arthur Machen, W. B. Yeats, and Evelyn Underhill. MacGregor Mathers based this extraordinary book on seven manuscripts from the British Museum's collections. Its formulas for conjuring up spirits and performing rituals offer a rich source of study for students of comparative religion, psychology, and the history of ideas. For working occultists, this classic provides a valuable and important guide to the execution of magical ceremonies.
The Key to Calm
by Linda BlairWhy are levels of anxiety and stress rising faster than ever before? Why has no one come up with a solution that offers true and lasting relief? Why has no one found the key to calm? Based on Linda Blair's years of experience as a clinical psychologist, this book not only answers these questions, but offers solutions to achieve calm and serenity in our everyday life. In five simple and effective steps we learn to:Stop, Look and Listen - Stop reacting to what's going on 'without', and regain inner balance and focus.Take Care of Your Best Asset - The best way to adapt to change and solve new problems is to start with the healthiest body and mind possible.Know Yourself - Discover your talents and possibilities, and learn how to use them to best advantage.Simplify - Streamline your life so you have the time and energy not only to cope more effectively with everyday life, but also to embrace new challenges.Reach Out - Understand the benefits of connecting socially, and learn to do so in a way that ensures a sense of safety and meaning.Linda Blair's proven programme will teach you how to find the balance, purpose and tranquillity you seek and enable you to find calm.
The Key to Calm
by Linda BlairWhy are levels of anxiety and stress rising faster than ever before? Why has no one come up with a solution that offers true and lasting relief? Why has no one found the key to calm? Based on Linda Blair's years of experience as a clinical psychologist, this book not only answers these questions, but offers solutions to achieve calm and serenity in our everyday life. In five simple and effective steps we learn to:Stop, Look and Listen - Stop reacting to what's going on 'without', and regain inner balance and focus.Take Care of Your Best Asset - The best way to adapt to change and solve new problems is to start with the healthiest body and mind possible.Know Yourself - Discover your talents and possibilities, and learn how to use them to best advantage.Simplify - Streamline your life so you have the time and energy not only to cope more effectively with everyday life, but also to embrace new challenges.Reach Out - Understand the benefits of connecting socially, and learn to do so in a way that ensures a sense of safety and meaning.Linda Blair's proven programme will teach you how to find the balance, purpose and tranquillity you seek and enable you to find calm.
The Key to Solomon's Key: Is This the Lost Symbol of Masonry? (Second Edition)
by James Wasserman Lon Milo Duquette Mark StavishSketching out a fascinating network of historic figures, cults, and Christendom, this book by an occult-studies expert and respected authority on magic and sorcery takes Western spiritual traditions seriously--but examines them with common sense and self-effacing humor. Working backward from the Freemasons to one of their original orders, the 14th-century Knights Templar, the account considers sorcery, heresy, and intrigues; explores the legend that the Knights possessed a powerful secret dangerous to the Church of Rome; and finds an essential clue to the order's practices in their connection to the biblical Solomon, king of Israel in the 10th century BC. This updated edition features new images, chapters on important symbols, and a new preface.
The Key to Tarot: Advice and Exercises to Unlock Your Mystical Potential
by Sarah BartlettUnlock your own innate psychic potential with this guide to the art of Tarot.The Tarot can help you to make crucial decisions, confirm your true desires for the future, and enhance self-understanding.Perfect for beginner and intermediate Tarot enthusiasts, The Key to Tarot provides an overview of Tarot and uses a combination of detailed background information and fun, simple lessons and exercises to help build your skills.Learn all there is to know about reading and interpreting the seventy-eight cards in a Tarot deck and using them for the benefit of yourself and others.In addition, each of the book’s four main sections concludes with a specially designed “masterclass” that takes you to a deeper level of understanding, if you feel ready to do so.
The Key to Your Energy: 22 Steps to Rebuild Your Energy and Free Yourself Emotionally
by Natacha CalestréméThe international bestselling guide with 22 tried-and-tested steps to spiritual healing, unburdening your past traumas, and regaining your energy so you can finally live life to the fullest.Are you tired of feeling tired? Do you feel weighed down by your emotional burdens and your past traumas?This is a practical manual in which journalist and therapist Natacha Calestrémé lays out exactly how she healed and rebuilt her energy, weaving in alternative therapies that ultimately helped her to reset her mindset, improve her sleep, boost happiness, and unblock any negative emotions that were in her way. She'll show you how to identify and heal any trauma deep within to live a life of freedom, helping you to free yourself from your painful emotions and reconnect with your inner strength, the key to your energy.
The Key to Your Own Nativity
by Alan LeoThe most renowned, complete course in astrology ever to appear, the Alan Leo Astrologer's Library is the undisputed source for self-instruction in astrology. Here is the master astrologer's easy to follow method for chart delineation and interpretation--a must for the beginner and an essential reference for the advanced astrologer.
The Key to the Qigong Meditation State: Rujing and Still Qigong
by Zhongxian Wu Tianjun LiuExploring classic Qigong meditation from the perspective of modern psychology, parapsychology and cognitive science, Dr. Tianjun Liu defines the mental state of 'still' Qigong in new terms, identifying a specific mental state, Rujing. He examines the psychology of meditation, showing what happens, both mentally and physically, when a person is in a meditation state. Dr Liu shows how the mastery of Rujing is a fundamental skill vital to the practice of Qigong, and presents a new type of Qigong exercise which takes the achievement of Rujing as its primary goal. His scientific approach to meditation is a breakthrough in this area and will be of interest to practitioners of Qigong and related practices at any level, in addition to anyone with an academic interest in meditation.
The Key: A True Encounter
by Whitley StrieberFrom the bestselling author of Communion comes the mysterious true story of how an unknown visitor barged into Streiber's hotel room late one night--and imparted extraordinary lessons in personal development and man's fate that challenge us to rethink every assumption about the meaning of life. At two-thirty in the morning of June 6, 1998, Whitley Streiber was awakened by somebody knocking on his hotel room door. A man came in, and everything he said was life-altering. This is the unsettling and ultimately enlightening narrative of what happened that night. Strieber was never really sure who this strange and knowing visitor was--a "Master of Wisdom"? A figure from a different realm of consciousness? A preternaturally intelligent being? He called him the Master of the Key. The one thing of which Strieber was certain is that both the man and the encounter were real. The main concern of the Master of the Key is to save each of us from self-imprisonment. "Mankind is trapped," the stranger tells Strieber. "I want to help you spring the trap. " In a sweeping exchange between Strieber and the stranger--which takes the form of a classical student- teacher dialogue in pursuit of inner understanding--the unknown man presents a lesson in human potential, esoteric psychology, and man's fate. He illuminates why man has been caught in a cycle of repeat violence and self-destruction--and the slender, but very real, possibility for release. In its breadth and intimacy, The Key is on par with contemporary metaphysical traditions, such as A Course in Miracles, or even with the dialogues of modern wisdom teachers, such as D. T. Suzuki and Carl Jung. .
The Keys to the Universe: Access the Ancient Secrets by Attuning to the Power and Wisdom of the Cosmos
by Diana Cooper Kathy CrosswellAs part of the preparation for 2012—when the universe will present vast changes for humanity—this examination communicates the knowledge of wise ancients. There are 48 keys and two cosmic keys that open up the various energies of the universe. Along with the accompanying CD, the information in this book will enable readers to expand their consciousness by using these keys to unlock the secrets of other realms, such as the animal and natural kingdoms, the elementals, different archangels and other angelic beings, cosmic masters, and wisdom centers. An exploration of spiritual laws, this is a fascinating and important look at energies that manifest as sound resonances and what humanity can do to access them.
The Khecarividya of Adinatha: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of an Early Text of Hathayoga (Routledge Studies in Tantric Traditions)
by James MallinsonDescribing one of the most important practices of hathayoga (khecarimudra), the Khecarividya of Adinatha is presented here to an English-speaking readership for the first time. The author, James Mallinson, draws on thirty Sanskrit works, as well as original fieldwork amongst yogins in India who use the practice, to demonstrate how earlier tantric yogic techniques developed and mutated into the practices of hathayoga. Accompanied by an introduction and an extensively annotated translation, the work sheds light on the development of hathayoga and its practices.
The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet
by Alicia SilverstoneIn The Kind Diet, actress, activist, and committed conservationist Alicia Silverstone shares the insights that encouraged her to swear off meat and dairy forever, and outlines the spectacular benefits of adopting a plant-based diet, from effortless weight loss to clear skin, off-the-chart energy, and smooth digestion. She explains how meat, fish, milk, and cheese—the very foods we've been taught to regard as the cornerstone of good nutrition—are actually the culprits behind escalating rates of disease and the cause of dire, potentially permanent damage to our ecology. Yet going meat- and dairy-free doesn't mean suffering deprivation; to the contrary, The Kind Diet introduces irresistibly delicious food that satisfies on every level—it even includes amazing desserts to keep the most stubborn sweet tooth happy. Alicia also addresses the nutritional concerns faced by many who are new to a plant-based diet, and shows how to cover every nutritional base, from protein to calcium and beyond. Alicia knows that changing life-long dietary habits is a process, and that each person progresses at a different pace. For that reason, The Kind Diet encompasses 3 separate levels, from Flirting to Superhero. Flirts learn to dip a toe into the vegan pool, reducing their meat-eating and swapping out a few key foods for plant-based substitutes to see quickly how even small changes can reap big results. Vegans get to experience the life-altering effects of forgoing animal-products entirely, while still enjoying many convenience foods and meat substitutes in addition to the wonderful grains, vegetables and fruits that form the core of that diet. True enlightenment comes with the Superhero program, based on the principles of macrobiotics and built on a foundation of whole grains, vegetables, and other yummy foods that Alicia describes in detail. Whether your goal is to drop a few pounds, boost your energy and metabolism, or simply save the world, Alicia provides the encouragement, the information, and the tools you need to make the transition to a plant-based diet deliciously empowering.
The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning
by Alicia SilverstoneWhen did making babies get to be so hard? Infertility is on the rise globally, affecting as many as one in six couples. But instead of considering diet and lifestyle factors, doctors pump their patients full of expensive and invasive fertility treatments. Once pregnant, women just accept that carrying a baby will be the gassy, swollen, irritable, sleepless nightmare that has become the new normal—and then assume that new motherhood will be just as challenging, from breastfeeding woes to screaming fits.It doesn't have to be that way. In The Kind Mama, Alicia Silverstone has created a comprehensive and practical guide empowering women to take charge of their fertility, pregnancy, and first 6 months with baby. Drawing on her own experience, as well as that of obstetricians, midwives, nutritionists, holistic health counselors, and others, Silverstone offers advice on getting one's "baby house" in order through nutrient-rocking foods that heal and nourish, and, once pregnant, gentle ways to boost comfort, energy, and health during each trimester. She helps readers navigate everything from prenatal testing and birth plans to successful breastfeeding and creating a supportive "baby nest." The result is an authoritative, one-stop guide that empowers women to trust their instincts during this vital milestone, while helping them embark on a healthy and more vibrant path to motherhood.
The Kindness Diaries
by Leon LogothesisFollow the inspirational journey of a former stockbroker who leaves his unfulfilling desk job in search of a meaningful life. He sets out from Los Angeles on a vintage motorbike, determined to circumnavigate the globe surviving only on the kindness of strangers. Incredibly, he makes his way across the U.S., through Europe, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and finally to Canada and back to the Hollywood sign, by asking strangers for shelter, food, and gas. Again and again, he's won over by the generosity of humanity, from the homeless man who shares his blanket to the poor farmer who helps him with his broken down bike, and the HIV-positive mother who takes him in and feeds him. At each stop, he finds a way to give back to these unsuspecting Good Samaritans in life-changing ways, by rebuilding their homes, paying for their schooling, and leaving behind gifts big and small. The Kindness Diaries will introduce you to a world of adventure, renew your faith in the bonds that connect people, and inspire you to accept and generate kindness in your own life.
The Kindness Workbook: Creative and Compassionate Ways to Boost Your Wellbeing
by Dr Mary Welford Dr Elaine BeaumontGrowing up is a juggling act. Our bodies and hormones change, usually at the same time as important decisions about our future need to be made. We often put extra pressure on ourselves, compare ourselves unfavourably to others and excessively worry about what other people think. Add in exams, interviews, relationships, social media, peer pressure, celebrity culture and everyday stressors, and it's no wonder our wellbeing can take a nosedive. The Kindness Workbook is a modern-day guide to help people navigate such complex times and combines amazing ideas and practices from a variety of therapies including: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Counselling and Expressive Therapy. Using creative exercises, examples and prompts, The Kindness Workbook teaches the skills of problem-solving using guided imagery, mindfulness, mind maps, vision boards, letter-writing, music, physical activity, drama and art. It has a number of icons to help signpost different sections and has eye-catching illustrations and worksheets, all of which aim to give your wellbeing a boost. A must-have book for young people and anyone working with young people to enhance wellbeing. Your kindness journey starts right here. So, it's time to become your own best friend, instead of your own worst enemy.
The Kindness Workbook: Creative and Compassionate Ways to Boost Your Wellbeing
by Elaine Beaumont Mary WelfordGrowing up is a juggling act. Our bodies and hormones change, usually at the same time as important decisions about our future need to be made. We often put extra pressure on ourselves, compare ourselves unfavourably to others and excessively worry about what other people think. Add in exams, interviews, relationships, social media, peer pressure, celebrity culture and everyday stressors, and it's no wonder our wellbeing can take a nosedive. The Kindness Workbook is a modern-day guide to help people navigate such complex times and combines amazing ideas and practices from a variety of therapies including: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Counselling and Expressive Therapy. Using creative exercises, examples and prompts, TheKindnessWorkbook teaches the skills of problem-solving using guided imagery, mindfulness, mind maps, vision boards, letter-writing, music, physical activity, drama and art. It has a number of icons to help signpost different sections and has eye-catching illustrations and worksheets, all of which aim to give your wellbeing a boost. A must-have book for young people and anyone working with young people to enhance wellbeing. Your kindness journey starts right here. So, it's time to become your own best friend, instead of your own worst enemy.
The King Who Refused to Die: The Anunnaki and the Search for Immortality
by Zecharia SitchinZecharia Sitchin’s secret allegorical novel that brings to life the key concepts of his bestselling book The 12th Planet • Reimagines the Epic of Gilgamesh in the context of Sitchin’s discoveries • Details ancient Sumerian sex rituals, the Anunnaki lineage of the gods who lived in Sumer, Anunnaki spacecraft technology, the workings of the Oracle of Anu, and Gilgamesh’s relationship with the goddess Ishtar Written in secret so as not to incite criticism about his controversial discoveries, this novel from the late Zecharia Sitchin brings to life the key themes of his bestseller The 12th Planet. The story begins in London as Astra arrives at the British Museum’s opening for their new Gilgamesh exhibit. There she meets a handsome stranger who knows secrets about her that no stranger should know, including the source of the unusual scar on her hand. Taking her to his apartment, he reveals that she is descended from the goddess Ishtar and that he is the modern-day avatar of Gilgamesh seeking to claim the eternal life Ishtar denied him so long ago. Reenacting their sacred sex ritual from eons ago, they find themselves transported to ancient Sumer as Gilgamesh and Ishtar, where he is at last able to continue his quest for immortality. But as Gilgamesh fulfills his sacred duties with Ishtar, something goes awry and the Oracle of Anu will not renew its blessing upon his kingship. Following the direction of his mother, the Anunnaki goddess Ninsun--the source of his partial divinity--Gilgamesh flees the city for the Anunnaki forbidden zone in search of a way to the planet Nibiru and eternal life. Travel alongside Gilgamesh and his immortal companion Enkidu as they escape the fate pronounced by the oracle, discover a Tablet of Destiny meant for Ishtar, fight off Marduk’s raiders, and foil the plot of the high priest, Gilgamesh’s half-brother who is seeking Gilgamesh’s crown for himself. Retelling the Epic of Gilgamesh in the context of his discoveries about the Anunnaki, Zecharia Sitchin weaves a tale of ancient ceremony, accidental betrayal, gods among men, interplanetary travel, and a quest for immortality spanning millennia.
The King in Orange: The Magical and Occult Roots of Political Power
by John Michael Greer• Details the magical war that took place behind the scenes of the 2016 election • Examines in detail the failed magical actions of Trump&’s opponents, with insights on political magic from Dion Fortune&’s war letters • Reveals the influence of a number of occult forces from Julius Evola to chaos magick to show how the political and magical landscape of American society has permanently changed since the 2016 election Magic and politics seem like unlikely bedfellows, but in e King in Orange, author John Michael Greer goes beyond super cial memes and extreme partisanship to reveal the unmentionable realities that spawned the unexpected presidential victory of an elderly real-estate mogul turned reality-TV star and which continue to drive the deepening divide that is now the de ning characteristic of American society. Greer convincingly shows how two competing schools of magic were led to contend for the presidency in 2016 and details the magical war that took place behind the scenes of the campaign. rough the in uence of a number of occult forces, from Julius Evola to chaos magicians as well as the cult of positive thinking, Greer shows that the main contenders in this magical war were the status quo magical state--as de ned by the late scholar Ioan Couliano--which has repurposed the &“manipulative magic&” techniques of the Renaissance magi into the subliminal techniques of modern advertising, and an older, deeper, and less reasonable form of magic--the &“magic of the excluded&”--which was employed by chaos magicians and alt-right internet wizards, whose desires coalesced in the form of a frog avatar that led the assault against the world we knew. Examining in detail the magical actions of Trump&’s opponents, with insights on political magic from occultist Dion Fortune&’s war letters, the author discusses how the magic of the privileged has functioned to keep the comfortable classes from being able to respond e ectively to the populist challenge and how and why the &“Magic Resistance,&” which tried to turn magic against Trump, has failed. Showing how the political and magical landscape of American society has permanently changed since the 2016 election cycle, Greer reveals that understanding the coming of the King in Orange will be a crucial step in making sense of the world for a long time to come.
The King of Halloween & Miss Firecracker Queen: A Daughter's Tale of Family and Football
by Lori LeachmanIn this memoir of a Southern childhood, football is a family&’s salvation—and its destruction. The King of Halloween & Miss Firecracker Queen tells the story of a football life from a daughter&’s perspective. Chronicling a rise through the competitive ranks—from high school to college to professional coaching, and ultimately a Super Bowl championship—it also reveals the struggle to deal with the decline and death of the patriarch, Lamar Leachman, from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as a result of that life. With forewords by NFL legends Phil Simms and Harry Carson, this is a true story of one family&’s love for a game and for each other, one man&’s strength of character, one woman&’s love that sustained him.
The Kingdom of Agarttha: A Journey into the Hollow Earth
by Joscelyn Godwin Marquis Alexandre Saint-Yves d'AlveydreFirst English translation of the book that introduced the realm of Hollow Earth • Explores the underground world of Agarttha, sometimes known as Shambhala, a realm that is spiritually and technologically advanced beyond our modern culture• One of the most influential works of 19th-century occultism• Written by the philosopher who influenced Papus, Rene Guénon, and Rudolf SteinerThe underground realm of Agarttha was first introduced to the Western world in 1886 by the French esoteric philosopher Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre with his book Mission de l’Inde, translated here for the first time into English. Saint-Yves’s book maintained that deep below the Himalayas were enormous underground cities, which were under the rule of a sovereign pontiff known as the Brahâtma. Throughout history, the “unknown superiors” cited by secret societies were believed to be emissaries from this realm who had moved underground at the onset of the Kali-Yuga, the Iron Age. Ruled in accordance with the highest principles, the kingdom of Agarttha, sometimes known as Shambhala, represents a world that is far advanced beyond our modern culture, both technologically and spiritually. The inhabitants possess amazing skills their above ground counterparts have long since forgotten. In addition, Agarttha is home to huge libraries of books engraved in stone, enshrining the collective knowledge of humanity from its remotest origins. Saint-Yves explained that the secret world of Agarttha, and all its wisdom and wealth, would be made available for humanity when Christianity and all other known religions of the world began truly honoring their own sacred teachings.
The Kingdom of Infinite Space: A Portrait of Your Head
by Raymond TallisIn this path-breaking book, one of Britain's most eloquent and original thinkers writes about the head, what happens in it, and how it is and is not connected to our sense of identity and consciousness. Blending science, philosophy, and humor, Raymond Tallis examines the extraordinarily complex relationship we have with our heads. His aim, as he says, "is to turn readers into astonished tourists of the piece of the world that is closest to them, so they never again take for granted the head that looks at them from the mirror." Readers will delight that this is precisely what he accomplishes. The voyage begins with a meditation on the self-portrait of a mirror image, followed by a consideration of the head's various secretions. Tallis contemplates the air we exhale; the subtle meanings of nods, winks, and smiles; the mysteries of hearing, taste, and smell. He discusses the metaphysics of the gaze, the meaning of kissing, and the processes by which the head comes to understand the world. Along the way he offers intriguing digressions on such notions as "having" and "using" one's head, and enjoying and suffering it. Tallis concludes with his thoughts on the very thing the reader's head has been doing throughout the book: thinking.
The Kingdom: A Channeled Text (The Beyond the Known Trilogy #3)
by Paul SeligThe third book in the transformational Beyond the Known series, The Kingdom is a stunning and powerful conclusion to the trilogy.Paul Selig’s profound gift is to channel the unfiltered wisdom of The Guides—higher beings who exist beyond the borders of traditional human understanding—and share it with the world. The Kingdom is a transcription of Paul’s channeled messages, direct from the Guides in their complete and unedited form.With beautiful language and profound wisdom, The Guides share an awe-inspiring glimpse into an understanding apart from and above our own. The first two books of the Beyond the Known series urged readers to step beyond their own understanding and enter into the transformational work this knowledge demands. This process of growth and transformation finds its ultimate completion and fulfillment in The Kingdom as readers are invited to dwell in a world transformed by a new understanding.
The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years (Well House Bks.)
by Judith A. Allen Andrew Clark-Huckstep Brandon J. Hill Hallimeda E. Allinson Liana Zhou Stephanie A. SandersAn in-depth history of Alfred Kinsey&’s groundbreaking Institute for Sex Research and the cultural awakening it inspired in America—&“it has no rival&” (Angus McLaren). While teaching a course on Marriage and Family at Indiana University, biologist Alfred Kinsey noticed a surprising dearth of scientific literature on human sexuality. He immediately began conducting his own research into this important yet neglected field of inquiry, and in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research as a firewall against those who opposed his work on moral grounds. His frank and dispassionate research shocked America with the hidden truths of our own sex lives, and his two groundbreaking reports —Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)—both became New York Times bestsellers. In The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years, Judith A. Allen and her coauthors provide an in-depth history of Kinsey&’s groundbreaking work and explore how the Institute has continued to make an impact on our culture. Covering the early years of the Institute through the &“Sexual Revolution,&” into the AIDS pandemic of the Reagan era, and on into the &“internet hook-up&” culture of today, the book illuminates the Institute&’s enduring importance to society.
The Kissing Bug: A True Story Of A Parasite And A Nation's Neglect Of A Deadly Disease
by Daisy HernándezWinner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award National Book Foundation Science + Literature Selection Finalist for New American Voices Award and Lammy Award for Bisexual Nonfiction A TIME, NPR, Chicago Public Library, Science for the People, WYNC, WBUR Radio Boston, and The Stacks Podcast Best Book of the Year Longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award As heard on Fresh Air Growing up in a New Jersey factory town in the 1980s, Daisy Hernández believed that her aunt had become deathly ill from eating an apple. No one in her family, in either the United States or Colombia, spoke of infectious diseases. Even into her thirties, she only knew that her aunt had died of Chagas, a rare and devastating illness that affects the heart and digestive system. But as Hernández dug deeper, she discovered that Chagas?or the kissing bug disease?is more prevalent in the United States than the Zika virus. After her aunt’s death, Hernández began searching for answers. Crisscrossing the country, she interviewed patients, doctors, epidemiologists, and even veterinarians with the Department of Defense. She learned that in the United States more than three hundred thousand people in the Latinx community have Chagas, and that outside of Latin America, this is the only country with the native insects?the “kissing bugs”?that carry the Chagas parasite. Through unsparing, gripping, and humane portraits, Hernández chronicles a story vast in scope and urgent in its implications, exposing how poverty, racism, and public policies have conspired to keep this disease hidden. A riveting and nuanced investigation into racial politics and for-profit healthcare in the United States, The Kissing Bug reveals the intimate history of a marginalized disease and connects us to the lives at the center of it all.