In this first episode, I take the plunge with the incomparable MaryBeth Bonfiglio, whose dynamic and varied work is not simple to summarize. She is a writer, writing instructor and guide, an intuitive, a midwife, and a folk/root worker dedicated to exploring the ancient wisdom of her Sicilian heritage.

Her Radici Siciliane gatherings, which attendees have described as “not a vacation, [but] a pilgrimage and a rite of passage and a week-long ritual,” take people to remote and traditional areas of Sicily to explore ancient folkway practices—such as tarot cards, ancient recipes, traditional dance and storytelling, cheesemaking, basket-weaving as well as creating a space for attendees to explore their own ancestral healing.