Long Life, Honey in the Heart

Long Life, Honey in the Heart:
A Story of Initiation and Eloquence From the Shores of a Mayan Lake

Martín Prechtel continues the narrative of his unique life in Santiago, Atitlan in Long Life, Honey in the Heart, an eloquent memoir replete with the subtle intelligence and sophistication of Mayan culture. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Guatemala’s political upheaval in the 1980s, this heady mix of magic, humor, and spirituality immerses the reader in the experiences of Mayan birth, courting, marriage, childrearing, old age, death, and beyond, using the true story of Prechtel’s own family and friends.

“A bold and sassy voice called me out of my end of Chiviliu’s compound before the Father Sun cracked his way out of the seed of Dawn, sprouting into Day. Staggering half-awake toward this formal-sounding challenge, I found its author facing me in line with four other impressive black-blanketed Cofradia men whose short striped pants and long colored sashes swayed in the cold lake breeze.”  — excerpt from Long Life, Honey in the Heart