The Island of Women, Paperback

The exciting sequel to THE ORACLE OF IX CHEL Pursued by the bloodthirsty priests of the War God, Jade Skirt and her granddaughter, Nine Macaw, must make their way in secret to Cuzamil. The girl is destined to inherit the Rainbow Throne of the sacred Island of Women beloved by the Goddess Ix Chel. Caught in a web of political intrigue, prophesies and visions, it is up to Jade Skirt to protect the holy sanctuary for women and secure a peaceful future for the Maya people. She finds unexpected allies on the road, but will she be betrayed by the ones closest to her?

Dr. Rosita Arvigo DN, a native of Chicago, is a naprapathic physician, herbalist, international lecturer and author. She has lived in remote areas of Mexico and Belize for more than forty years. There, she studied with many traditional healers including Don Elijio Panti, the renowned Maya shaman of Belize, and midwife/ herbalist Hortence Robinson. Both of her teachers were recipients of the coveted National Living Treasure Award. Rosita and her husband, Dr. Greg Shropshire, founded Ix Chel Tropical Research Centre in Belize. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of medicinal plants of the rainforest. They founded the Belize Association of Traditional Healers; Bush Medicine Camp for children; The Rainforest Medicine Trail; and Rainforest Remedies, an herbal concentrate company. In 1987, they founded the Belize Ethnobotany project with Dr. Michael Balick of the New York Botanical Garden. Rosita is the founder of The Arvigo Institute, which trains practitioners in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy and Maya Spiritual Healing. Now retired from clinical practice, Rosita focuses on teaching and writing. She divides her time between Belize, Mexico and Chicago. The Oracle of Ix Chel is her first novel. The author's nonfiction books include: Sastun: My Apprenticeship With a Maya Healer with Nadine Epstein (Harper One, 1994) Rainforest Remedies: 100 Healing Herbs of Belize with Dr. Michael Balick (Lotus Light Enterprises, 1994) Remedios de la Selva: Cien Plantas Medicinales de Belice with Dr. Michael Balick (Lotus Light Enterprises, 2013) Rainforest Home Remedies: The Maya Way to Heal Your Body and Replenish Your Soul with Nadine Epstein (Harper One, 2001) Plantas Medicinales en el Norte de Guanajuato; Medicinal Plants used in Northern Guanajuato (Arvigo Institute, 2013) Food of the Gods: Vegetarian Cooking in Belize (Cubola Press, 2010) Spiritual Bathing: Traditions from Around the World with Nadine Epstein (Celestial Arts Press, 2003) Messages from the Gods: The Useful Plants of Belize with Dr. Michael Balick (Oxford University Press, 2015)