"Witches of America" by Alex Mar - Review (Patreon)

My relationship with this book started in 2016 when I first got out the audio book from the library. I doubt I was more than a chapter or two in when I angrily stopped the CD and returned it. And ever since that day I was nagged by the question - how does it end though?

The basics: Witches of America, much like The Art of Asking, combines informative nonfiction writing with a personal/autobiographical narrative. Alex Mar takes on an anthropological study of American pagan collectives/groups/understanding while also embarking on a journey of self discovery. As a liberal, feminist, science minded skeptic; she wanted to understand the faiths coming from a body of people who are often liberals, feminists, and science minded skeptics - and maybe cultivate a faith of her own in doing so.

What I liked: 

This is a good book for someone essentially in Alex Mar's shoes whether you're looking into Paganism for yourself or what some context/history behind all these "witches" you've heard about. The information is a good, and Alex Mar excels at taking a step back and presenting often challenging (even repulsive) practices in a way that is accessible and free of judgment. The writing itself is good, the information is good, Alex Mar is a good writer...

What I struggled with: 

...that said? when Alex Mar lends her voice to the experience/writing I found her to be pretty obnoxious. Right off the bat she describes herself as a black-clad, latte sipping, NYC kid. It shows. At her best she struggles (in every chapter) with self doubt, overthinking, and anxiety about the process. At worst? she regurgitates gross judgements on people's physicality.

I bring this up mainly because the bulk of the writing is so good, so it's incredibly distracting when Mar essentially describes someone as attractive or unattractive - details that are utterly irrelevant to both the subject and the narrative. People Mar understood as "overweight" or (in her words) "obese" are always described in unflattering ways. This makes complete sense because Mar later confesses she had an eating disorder in high school but? stopped? because she didn't want people to label her as Anorexic?

...ok Alex...whatever you say.

Two other major distractions are Alex Mar's infatuation with Morpheus Ravenna (a pagan high priestess) and a chapter on Necromancy. I guess the gay in me wanted the former to blossom into a romance of some kind. A lot of this book is about Morpheus. A lot. Too much, maybe. It would be one thing if that relationship went somewhere or had some kind of dramatic conclusion. It doesn't.

And then there's the Necromancy. I thought I could write this review without noting this chapter but I can't because it bothered the hell out of me. In one chapter Alex Mar describes working with folks that break into cemeteries and decapitate fresh corpses for magical rituals. And frankly what made it so offensive to me was that - again - it felt like Alex Mar was working off her attraction to the head honcho and unable to take that same unbiased stance as she does with most other chapters. I think part of her definitely understood that she was dealing with psychopathic personalities? but she seemed unable to address the danger (and utter disrespect, frankly) that some of these folks pose. She openly notes these engagements are illegal, and later acknowledges that a lot of what one particular leader spoke to her about might be bullshit. I dunno, her treatment of this chapter was gross - and I don't think it had to be.

Overall: 

Alex Mar doesn't tread too carefully through her journey. She stumbles and trips and honestly it's painful to read. I would often jab the car speakers off, and yell "what the fuck is she doing?" and frankly there is no real satisfying conclusion to it all. I wanted the book to end with some kind of epilogue where we learn where she is now. I imagine she's back in NYC sipping lattes.

But as harsh as I sound - I found the book engaging, relatable, and interesting. In spite of my problems with her tone/stance I think Alex Mar did a great job at delivering information in a respectful and sincere way while also providing solid information.

So much so that I had to watch her film "American Mystic" (I don't recommend it at all) right after reading. I'm compelled to reach out to her (ppfppft) just to learn where she is now.