Sister Jaguar’s Journey
A Nun’s Ayahuasca Awakening in the Amazon Rainforest
by
Book Details
About the Book
Sister Jaguar’s Journey is the fiercely honest story of Sister Judy Bisignano—a Dominican nun who, after spending sixty-eight years looking for God in all the wrong places, finally found the peace and divine connection she was looking for in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. It all starts with a simple invitation to visit the Achuar community in the Amazon jungle. Here, in this place, with these special people, using the plant medicine ayahuasca, she was propelled onto a new path. Guided by the indigenous wisdom of Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the sacred rituals of the Achuar people, she confronts and lets go of her turbulent, abusive, and angry past, ultimately discovering that her life’s purpose was not to become an American educator, author, and nun but rather, a compassionate human being. In many ways, Sister Jaguar’s Journey is the story of one nun’s transformational passage from self-rejection to self-acceptance and from self-blame to self-love. It is, perhaps, the journey of each of us as we search for peace in this life and beyond. The Achuar call her Hermana Otorango—Sister Jaguar, and so will you.
About the Author
Sister Judy Bisignano, O.P., Ed.D. is an Adrian Dominican nun. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, she spent most of her adult life directing private and public charter schools in Tucson, Arizona. On one trip to the Amazon jungle she encountered a black jaguar stalking a bird at river’s edge. She is the only person from the north to have seen a black jaguar in the area since eco-tourism began in 2000. Sandra Morse and her eleven siblings were raised in Yuma, Arizona. She is a communications philosopher with a private practice in Tucson, Arizona. She and her husband, Michael, have three children: Sophie, Elliott and Oren. Sandra conducts cultural immersion experiences to Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. On a recent visit, Achuar elders publicly thanked and honored Sandra as “one of them.” They asked her to help them with projects related to education, reforestation and health. All proceeds from the book will be used to make this a reality.