Reviews for Slaying The Mouse

The average rating for Slaying The Mouse based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-10-28 00:00:00 Omen Hussein "Healing is simply a matter of paying attention to the wisdom of your body, mind and heart," writes author and psychotherapist, Wendy Stofan Halley. About the author: "Driven by a desire to explore healing possibilities beyond the scope of contemporary practices, Wendy became involved in the study and practice of Shamanic healing with an emphasis in Hawaiian mysticism and healing methods. She offers healing, counseling, and experiential workshops through Lucid Path Healing Arts." Sure, I'm adventurous enough to at least consider most "out there" ideas and practices, and this promised to invite new thinking, or, as the case may be, an exploration of old thinking. The story is an account of Wendy's healing work with 19-year-old Jason, who has mysteriously slipped into a coma with no explanation from traditional doctors. The young man's family works with traditional medicine, but also call on Wendy, who then applies the ancient practice of Shamanic Trance. The boy lies in deep sleep, doctors ponder one possibility after another (encephalitis? spinal meningitis?). With narrative (presented in an omniscient perspective as if by Jason himself) interspersed with emails from various concerned parties - parents, siblings, girlfriend - the story unfolds with Wendy summoning spirits, called Helpers, to save Jason. There is an Indian Man, an Indian woman called Raventalker, a bald Asian man called Li Ming, a being of light called Oshira, and a buffalo who answers to Buffalo Bill. Drifting in and out of his physical body, Jason finds that he can communicate with these Spirit Helpers and Wendy via telepathy. They not only work over his body, they work with his spirit, healing emotions alongside physical ailments. If this sounds a bit farfetched, depending on your personal beliefs, it is. Whenever I come across what seems initially unbelievable, I remind myself that solid science shows that we use a very small percentage of our brains. Who can say what possibilities are hidden in the unused portions? Surely telepathy is possible; not one of us can unequivocally state that we know what happens to our minds and spirits in death, or in this death-like state of a coma. I had little trouble suspending disbelief as I read about Jason's bizarre experiences while lying in a hospital bed. If at times some of the accounts of Spirit Helpers seem a tad ticklish, Jason, too, treats them that way. He teases and jokes in his lighter moments, bursts out with profanities of exasperation at the darker ones, all of which perhaps aid the reader in accepting the unexplained. Other times, he gives in to his frustration, even anger, and tests his own endurance and limits of understanding. The slender book leads the reader along with ease. If some of the scenes are harder to accept than others, in general the story intrigues with questions surely we all must ask at one time or another. The suspense builds as we await Jason's reawakening, surely to affirm his spiritual connection with his Helpers, Wendy herself most of all... ... but it never happens. What?! That's it? Yes, Jason survives, as we'd come to expect. No surprise there. But if this isn't to read entirely like a piece of fiction, surely the end must justify the suspension of disbelief, and the recovering Jason, waking into our more accustomed reality, affirm that he did indeed experience a connection with Wendy and the other Helpers during his deep sleep. But there is no such affirmation. There is no statement of connection. There is no resurrected memory. And so this otherwise intriguing account of spiritual connection and healing concludes with nothing more than the story of Jason's experience as imagined by the author. I am willing to learn new things, to stretch my mind, to consider the occasional miracle. But it is disappointing to be led to expect one -- and then not to find it. At the very conclusion of this book, I could only ask: "what's the point?"

Review # 2 was written on 2010-10-25 00:00:00 Jeff Walton Let me start by saying that I LOVED this book..when I picked it up I was really in the mood for something different, and that's definitely what I got. The night I started it I had to force myself to put it down and go to sleep..and I finished it shortly after waking up the next morning..its a quick and easy read, but one that will stay with you long after you finish it. The author, Wendy Stofan Halley, is contacted by the family of a young man who mysteriously slips into a coma. The doctors in charge of his treatment are pretty much at a loss as to what is going on with him, and tell his family that they aren't hopeful about his recovery. Halley is a shamanic healer, and his family contacts her in hopes that she can help. What follows is the story, told strictly from Halley's point of view, of their nine months of treatment sessions. The full title of the book is "Slaying the Mouse; A true story of healing in the spiritual realms," and that's what the story is about. Readers learn about the ancient art of shamanic healing, and about how Wendy and the spirit helpers help Jason recover from his coma. Some people will find the book a little too "out there," for their liking, but if you have any spiritual beliefs at all, you'll adore this book the way I did. It's written clearly and in a way that you are sucked into the journey along with Jason and Wendy. You're there as Jason struggles to come to terms with not only the spiritual aspects of it all, but with himself and his fears and limitations as well. It's a beautiful story, and I can't say enough good things about it without ruining the whole thing for potential readers.. Go get a copy..read it..you'll love it.