Sorcerer's Apprentice opens with Amy Wallace's first meeting with
Carlos Castaneda, the infamous anthropologist-turned-shaman, whose books
described meetings with Yaqui Indian spiritual teacher don Juan.
Castaneda's rise was meteoric in the late 1960s as he wrote massive
bestsellers, inspired many to experiment with psychedelics, and was
dubbed "the Godfather of the New Age." The possibility that Castaneda's
experiences may have been fabricated did little to compromise his
legend.As the daughter of best-selling novelist Irving Wallace, Amy was
rarely shy around famous people. When her father insisted she meet
Castaneda, she at first demurred. Little did she know that a delightful
first meeting would begin a 20-year friendship, followed by her descent
into the dramatic and deeply troubled affair chronicled in this book.
Sorcerer's Apprentice unblinkingly reveals the inner workings of the
"Cult of Carlos," run by a charismatic authoritarian in his sixties who
controlled his young female followers through emotional abuse, mind
games, bizarre rituals, dubious teachings, and sexual excess. Wallace's
story is both specific and universal, a captivating cautionary tale
about the dangers of giving up one's power to a tyrant-and about
surviving assaults on body and spirit.