THE MAGIC OF MEXICO

There is a question that hovers over the later years of a life, one that most people are afraid to ask aloud: What is to become of me? This is Edward Samuelson's answer. Or rather, it is the story of how Mexico became the answer. The Magic of Mexico: And the Becoming of Me is a memoir of loss, reinvention, and one extraordinary lake. When Samuelson was laid off at fifty-eight — invisible to employers, stunned by divorce, quietly sliding into depression — a Spanish class led him, almost accidentally, to a small lakeside town in Jalisco. Something in the color, the music, and the warmth lifted him. He bought a house. He crossed the border. He began again. Written with beauty and honesty, this book is a deep portrait of one place — the lakeside villages of Chapala and the world of Jalisco — not as a tourist sees it, but as a neighbor lives it. Here is the malecón at dawn, where pelicans glide in formation over silver water. Here are the bells of the Parroquia de San Francisco. Here is Guadalajara — as beautiful as any city on earth. Here is Lalo, the name his neighbors gave him, called out from doorways: evidence of belonging. Along the way, Samuelson explores the themes that shaped his transformation: — The astrology that made Mexico inevitable — Jupiter in Cancer, drawn to water — The energetic world of Mexico — why this culture vibrates at an extraordinarily high frequency — The spirit of the lake, Machicihualli, and the sacred everyday — Day of the Dead as an act of love — Mexico's radical refusal to pretend the dead are simply gone — What belonging truly means — and how it is practiced, not granted For anyone at a crossroads — anyone for whom a door has closed and the next one is not yet visible — this book offers not instruction, but company. About the author: Edward A. Samuelson MA, DD is a Divine Mystic, artist, healer, and life guide. He has lived in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico since 2006. His neighbors call him Lalo. He is still becoming. The lake is still there. The colors have not faded. Come along.