{"product_id":"pathway-to-the-stars-david-turner-9781772442847","title":"Pathway to the Stars: Playing for Alexa","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this poignant memoir, anthropologist and author David Turner tells of how he played the \u003cem\u003eyiraga --- \u003c\/em\u003ea musical instrument played by the aboriginal peoples of Australia --- for his friend and former partner Alexa, following her death in 2020. Turner describes the meaning of the \u003cem\u003eyiraga\u003c\/em\u003e within Australian aboriginal culture, and how he learned to play the instrument over the course of several decades living with and learning from indigenous peoples on Australia's Groote Eylandt archipelago. The result is a profound meditation on the meaning of life and death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFROM THE BOOK: \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Grief might prove debilitating at first and serve to clear the mind of all thoughts and distractions in preparation, except that the act of playing the \u003cem\u003eyiraga\u003c\/em\u003e induces a becalming state of mind\/being in which only the sense of breathing remains. This is effected by the repetitive rhythms of the mouth-sound tempos (which there is no need to sound to oneself once one becomes adept at playing), of which there are three: \u003cem\u003edegul degul\u003c\/em\u003e, quick; \u003cem\u003edegul-degula-gula\u003c\/em\u003e, medium; and \u003cem\u003edegula degula\u003c\/em\u003e, slow. It is in a becalmed but empty state of mind\/being that one potentially enters a mediating zone between the \"real\" and the \"transcendent\" and is able to open a portal for the departed in their journey.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIllustrated with more than 40 full-colour images\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Turner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1772442844\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781772442847\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Rock's Mills Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/27\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 54\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.18lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.14d","brand":"David Turner","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48442556907775,"sku":"9781772442847","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3c56b9cd-4bf6-42cc-bbe3-8b31400c0419.jpg?v=1777198187","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/pathway-to-the-stars-david-turner-9781772442847","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}