In The Press

"This book does what all good ethnographies do: it tells gripping stories. Rocha has a gift for taking simple moments between people and showing how complex they really are."--L.L. Wynn, The Australian Journal of Anthropology"Rocha's book is richly detailed and persuasive... [H]er ability to integrate a variety of relevant concepts and theoretical frames into her analysis is exceptional. The book is clearly written and engaging, and the analysis is original and valuable. Highly recommended for specialists, for libraries, and for students and scholars of religion interested in Latin American religions, religious healing, spirit incorporation traditions, and/or the globalization of religions."--Steven Engler, Religion"This book does what all good ethnographies do: it tells gripping stories. Rocha has a gift for taking simple moments between people and showing how complex they really are, informed by a range of philosophies and belief systems as well as a global political economy. But fundamentally, this book is a deeply respectful account of people's beliefs that never reduces them to a placebo effect or false consciousness, even as it shows the structures underpinning their pilgrimages."--The Australian Journal of Anthropology"This is one of the most insightful and engaging accounts of spiritual healing in recent years. By focusing on one of the most intriguing spiritual healers of our time, João de Deus, Rocha illuminates the enduring relevance, despite significant secularization in the West, of curing through faith. This book belongs on the top shelf of everyone interested in 21st-century religion, spirituality and globalization." --R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint