Gateway Mexico: Adventures of another gringo who wanted to be a shaman

by Nathaniel Horowitz

Far off the beaten path in Mexico and Ecuador, a young writer seeks healing and adventure among indigenous people and alone in nature. A travelogue, a coming of age story, a gritty philosophical reflection; a clear-eyed, passionate study of culture, nature, and the mind. With sex, drugs, violence, mental illness, tamales, the Sun Dance, a threatening Akita, smug pigs, exceptionally intelligent magic wands, the patron of scorpions, a space alien who wants to be a rabbi, several possible cases of telepathy, spears, blowguns, a hotel that's better than the Hilton, and a selectively-invisible fox.

220 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2018

Reviews

[Meredith McGhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

At a time when indigenous people and their habitats are imperiled, and consumerism has sucked the spirit out of our own culture, books like Nathan Horowitz’s autobiographical novel Gateway Mexico are more important than ever. We’re now faced with the knowledge that we have brought our planet to the brink of destruction. Although this is not an environmental book per se, it reminded me of the value of indigenous ways and cultures, something fast and frighteningly disappearing.

Gateway Mexico is the first volume of a quadrilogy that details the author’s spiritual and physical journey into indigenous shamanism--something that I always dreamed of doing, but never had the courage to think was possible. Against a number of personal odds, Nathan Horowitz traveled as a young man to a country he’d never seen, with little money and a plan to track down a shaman and offer himself as his student. The result was a classic hero’s journey of learning and spiritual healing, and Gateway Mexico is just the beginning.

This is a book that needs to be read and absorbed slowly to get the full effect, and by that I do mean to compare it to taking a drug. If you’ve ever tried psychedelics, you may find Nathan’s writing to induce some of that same mind expansion--perhaps even if you never have. This takes place on two levels. One is the level of narrative, in which the author describes his states of consciousness after taking various substances. The other is the writing itself, where he adroitly uses Joycean wordplay, poetry and stream of consciousness to create an altered state in the reader.

In this respect Gateway Mexico and the other volumes of this series differ from other books in the psychonaut genre, being the product of a literary mind rather than a how-to-get-enlightened manual or a work of reporting. This means that I recommend it not just for spiritual seekers, but for people who like good writing, admirers of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

[Ace Boggess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Horowitz has written a compelling, strange narrative. Novel? Memoir? Creative nonfiction? It's never made clear, although the fact that the narrator shares his name provides a clue that this will at least be a deeply personal book. It follows a young man's quest to experience various types of mysticism and shamanism. Parts of the book reminded me of Hesse--Siddhartha and Journey to the East--although other parts shared more of the philosophical decadence of Steppenwolf or the little-boy-lost themes of Beneath the Wheel, Rosshalde, or Demian. That said, the narrator's journey is not to East but to the South, through Mexico and Central America into the rain-forest. The results of this spiritual quest are at times amusing (often, the narrator asks for things and is told simply "No" for various comical reasons) and disturbing (intestinal discomfort seems to be the road to enlightenment). Whether the narrator ever finds the answers he's seeking, well, that's up for debate, but the journey itself has its moments of bliss, its chaos of drugs tried and people met. It's the journey, not the destination, right? This is a journey worth taking....

[Sunmin Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what it feels like to take a journey through psychedelic Latin America without risking brain damage, flesh-eating mosquitos, dengue fever or leaving the comfort of your chair, read Gateway Mexico and Bat Dreams. Horowitz takes you on a mind-bending journey into an altered Universe with insight, humor and poetry. Reminds me of Jack Kerouac, Edward Abbey, Loren Eiseley and J.D. Salinger all rolled into one. Thoughtful. Sensual. Playful. Anyone searching for the meaning in life can find that satori is here in the infinite now and the only way to discover one’s truth is to wander lost, and will enjoy reading this book. It takes you back to that time when you were young and curious and on the edge of despair and everything wonderful.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this read. Nathan Horowitz moves effortlessly between the sometimes absurd stories of daily life in his travels and the fascinating details of his ongoing spiritual journey. He always keeps it weird, interesting and funny as he informs the reader of his progress and reflects on exchanges with curandero, spiritual seekers and fellow travelers.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an astonishing heartfelt, grand and masterfully written account, which once I picked up, I could not put down.
Bravo, I say to you. Inquisitive, often momentarily hilarious and all the while taking us into territory most of us have never visited. Wonderful to read.

[Dave Santander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it. It’s a story about world class medicine people from a n ancient tradition. Ancient visionary wisdom from the great dreamers. Worlds beyond worlds. See what lies beyond the gates of infinity and your own heart, through Nathan’s incredibly sincere account of a seemingly impossible tale. Just read it!

[Tamara Gantt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually still reading this marvelous book, but I can tell you that Chapter 7, "Where Anglos Fear to Tread," alone is worth buying it for. We smoke the pipe, we fear the growling nightguard dog in the midst of his lovemaking. We pray, we remember the ones who came before. "The tipi was the world's first spaceship..." and we, too, can be shamans, miracle workers, healers, even in our pata de perro (dog paw) -- wanderlust. Derange your senses with Nathan's dizzying words.