By the time Annelise was seven years old, she had lived in Istanbul for five years and travelled around the world. By the age of twenty, she had lived in England and Spain, and had a passion for learning languages and experiencing diverse cultures. This contributed to her going to Brazil to study its culture and history, a time which profoundly influenced the rest of her life. Her professional careers have ranged from Runway Model, to Director of HR in a corporation, Author, and Death Doula for thirty years. “Ayahuasca, Sacred Medicine” shares these exciting, often wondrous, and sometimes awful experiences from her life.

In 1977, she drank Ayahuasca for the first time with a Brazilian spiritual group, the UDV (Uniao do Vegetal). She was a member for eighteen years, and served as a primary translator. Her story of rituals, the strength of community, and the years of deepening awareness portrays a tradition of mystery with ancient roots, and also a very modern drama involving stark and honest revelation. The story shares the role of Ayahuasca in opening Annelise to dimensions beyond this realm. Those expereinces led to the healing of old wounds, a significant change in the trajectory of her life, and deeper happiness in her everyday life. The book is a great repository of factual and experiential information for understanding the science and the mystery of the many aspects of Ayahuasca.

Over many years, Annelise has written articles and presented her knowledge at conferences dedicated to studying Ayahuasca. From the intimate perspective of a translator and interpreter, Annelise adventured with researchers involved in Ethnobotany and learned first hand the personal, cultural, and scientific significance of Ayahuasca in human development. Her work has contributed beautiful knowledge and personal experience to the conscious exploration of this sacred medicine. This book offers wisdom and realistic and grounded knowledge of how Ayahuasca can lead to spiritual awakening, emotional and physical healing, and the deepening of our human connection with nature.