Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda

This is a strange personal account of an enduring relationship between one of the world's most mysterious and famous shamans in the last two centuries, and a young and sensitive woman, the daughter of a popular author, Irving Wallace, and her attempt to honestly relate the insanity, trauma and psychological abuse that those who've had the misfortune of belonging to a genuine cult, will understand all too well. The texts of Carlos Castaneda have influenced and continue to affect millions of reader's across the world. Regardless if these books are pure fabrication or the literal truth is somewhat irrelevant: the philosophy of the Way of the Warrior, opening awareness to things and events in the world, that we normally do not see, the notion that there is a path to "true" knowledge, and a prescribed method to "total freedom", is an alluring proposal. Most of us living our mundane day-to-day lives, getting up every day to just make a living, the idea that there is "magic" in the world, and that it can be tapped and used for self betterment is compelling, and touched the 60's generation at exactly the right time. As most readers of Castaneda well know, his philosophy is anti-authority, breaking from the chains of our incessant social conditioning, (smashing the ego to bits) and becoming the beings we were meant to be - warriors of impeccability. Nonetheless, the proof is in our actions, our fruits, which begs the question, has anyone, including Castaneda, achieved the warrior's goal, and leaped into the abyss of infinity with her/his eyes wide open? After reading Amy Wallace's book, a nagging doubt remains. It is without question that Castaneda was a highly charismatic and enormously persuasive individual. Those who actually met the man, celebrities, politicians and writers all agree on this point. Amy Wallace, though, fell in love with the man, in the romantic sense, became his constant companion, and contributed to the creation of his organization. She became a member of his inner circle of witches, kicked out and let back in again far too many times. She had to experience untold psychological abuse, and the appalling insanities of Castaneda's endless sexual exploits with a platoon of women that would make the most highly promiscuous wince in disbelief. The politics and backstabbing between his inner circle of witches reminded me of the petty games of adolescent girls, with their jealousies and drama, all vying for the father's attention. As the central method to impeccability of a sorcerer is the abolishment of the ego, ridding the personality of "self importance", these so-called witches failed on every count. Amy Wallace managed to survive her experience in this cult, though had to undergo most of the psychological pain of separating from it, and the death of her lover: post-traumatic syndrome, grief, longing and thoughts of suicide, finally in the end, it seems, achieving her psychological separation, as she proposes, through the writing

Amy Wallace is out of the box and is telling us a frightening account of her life as an apprentice in the very private world of Castaneda. Years ago, Carlos Castaneda's books set my world on fire and set me on a path of self discovery, a path that fortunately got grounded by other works and life in general (apparently a far better way to approach the Sorcerer's world according to the author,.., made me feel better anyway). "Sorcerer's Apprentice" gives you a solid taste of the reality of what it means to seek freedom through the eyes of another. I could not put the book down. It is a must read for those who dare use their critical mind. The book ends with a very thoughtful epilogue evaluating Castaneda's impact.

Thank you Amy Wallace for this well written and truthful book. Knowing more about Carlos Castaneda, the way he lived, and the kind of human being he was, does a great service to those seeking to learn the valuable and magical lessons in his books; that the real truth for each person is reflected ultimately from within and not bestowed from without.

Amy Wallace's book is about Carlos Castaneda, the man, and those around him - the "inner circle". Having been close to them, she does a superb job of describing the way Carlos and the group lived, and apparently they behaved just like any other cult. She has written an invaluable book for any Castaneda fan. Not for the narrow-minded, though.I believe Don Juan's teachings as described by Castaneda are great, no matter where they came from. That doesn't mean Castaneda could not be just another human being like any of us. In fact that is how he is pictured in most of his books: Don Juan keeps saying Carlos is stupid and slow to learn. Amy Wallace shows us Carlos, the man - full of human feelings and emotions, not necessarily positive.This is a book about the singer, not the song. If Castaneda's work means anything to you, you may be curious about the way Carlos actually lived, how he died, and what happened to those who remained. If you are, then this book is definitely for you. Amy Wallace is a known writer and I hope you will find her work as exciting (and surprising) as I did.===About the reviewer - I started reading Castaneda's books in the 80's and read each of them at least 3 times, including Florinda's and Taisha's. Like many others, I tried to follow Don Juan's teachings for some years - can't say that I succeeded. I never met Castaneda, any of his inner circle followers or, for that matter, Amy Wallace. I am not associated with Amy, her editor, publisher, etc. I wrote this review after seeing many anonymous reviews here that are absolutely unfair to Amy's work. To one who is familiar with Castaneda's teachings and has read Amy's book, those reviews look like a specific task that was given to Castaneda's remaining closest followers, with the intent of keeping hidden the "secrets" Amy brings to light.

This alternately beautiful, terrifying, wondrous, disturbing and profoundly human memoir of the author's 30-year spanning friendship-turned-relationship with the legendary Carlos Castaneda is compulsive, memorable reading. Ms. Wallace (a bestselling fiction and nonfiction writer, as well as the daughter of the best-selling novelist Irving Wallace) - a true seeker who is as brilliant as she is spiritual - shows us the best and the worst of Castaneda the man and his group (more accurately, his CULT), taking the reader on an unforgettable journey into both the light and the dark. Must reading for anyone fascinated with the Castaneda mythos; make no mistake, however - this is far more than a provocative New Age study...it's also a devastatingly incisive, ferociously literate, shatteringly tragic and ultimately triumphant story of an incredible and heroic woman's most extraordinary life.