From the bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant, a comic and life affirming novel of the clash between progress and tradition, science and magic: “one of the most elegantly philosophical, urgent—yet somehow timeless—novels of these perilous times” (Howard Norman, National Book Award finalist for The Bird Artist). Vermont is drying up. The normally lush, green countryside is in the grip of the worst drought in years: stunted cornstalks rasp in the hot July breeze, parched vegetable gardens wither and die, the Chittenden River shrinks to a trickle, and the drilling trucks are booked solid as one by one the wells give out. Patience Avery, known nationwide as a gifted "water witch", is having a busy summer, too. Using the tools of the dowser's trade —divining sticks, metal rods, bobbers, and pendulums—she can locate, among other things, aquifers deep within the earth. In the midst of this crisis, Scottie Winston lobbies for permits to expand Powder Peak, a local ski area that's his law firm's principal client. As part of the expansion, the resort seeks to draw water for snowmaking from the beleaguered Chittenden, despite opposition from environmentalists who fear that the already weakened river will be damaged beyond repair.

One of the very first novels by the number one bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant: a prescient, environmentalist political drama in which a small-town lawyer finds himself torn between his career and his family, and between money and the natural world. Patience Avery is a dowser--a "water witch." With a pair of divining rods and her natural gifts, she can locate lost items, missing people--and aquifers deep within the earth. This last skill is more in demand than ever, as the normally lush, green countryside of Patience's native Vermont is in the grip of the worst drought in years: stunted cornstalks rasp in the hot July breeze, parched vegetable gardens wither and die, and the Chittenden River has shrunk to a trickle. Patience does what she can to help her neighbors find new water sources for exhausted wells, but she knows better than most that this crisis is a symptom of worse things to come. Not that she can convince her brother-in-law, Scottie Winston, of this. Scottie's spent the long, dry summer lobbying for permits to expand Powder Peak, a local ski area that's his law firm's principal client. As part of the expansion, the resort seeks to draw water for snowmaking from the beleaguered Chittenden, despite opposition from environmentalists who fear that the already weakened river will be damaged beyond repair. Pressure from his wife and daughter on one side--and a slew of powerful politicians, wealthy developers, and the partners at his firm on the other--pushes Scottie closer and closer to a moral crisis that will have a profound effect not just on Scottie's family, but on the future of the entire state.

From the bestselling author of The Flight Attendant—Patience Avery is a dowser, a “water witch.” Her natural gifts enable her to locate lost items, missing people, and aquifers deep within the earth. This last skill is more in demand than ever, as her home state of Vermont is in the grip of the worst drought in years. Patience knows better than most that this crisis is only the start. 25th Anniversary Edition, with a new note from the author Yet Patience’s opinion means little to her brother-in-law, Scottie Winston. Scottie’s spent the long, dry summer lobbying for permits to expand Powder Peak, a local ski area that’s his law firm’s biggest client. The resort is seeking to draw water for snowmaking from the Chittenden River, despite opposition from environmentalists who fear that the already weakened waterway will be damaged beyond repair. As the pressure mounts—from his wife and daughter on one side and a slew of powerful politicians and wealthy developers on the other—Scottie finds himself pushed closer and closer to a life-changing moral crisis. One of bestselling author Chris Bohjalian’s earliest novels, Water Witches is a prescient environmentalist and political drama that’s even more relevant today than it was a quarter of a century ago.

An accessible in-depth guide to Celtic water lore, including spells, rituals, water spirits, and merfolk Let Annwyn Avalon, a practicing water witch herself, take you into the world of water magic. The water magic and lore in this book focuses on the Celtic tradition, but draws on other water magic traditions as well, and features rainwater, as well as lakes, rivers, oceans, canals, swamps, and other watery locations, together with the folk and magical customs that have been and are still practiced at these places. The book teaches the reader how to set up a water altar at home, how to connect with water spirits, and how to gather or create water witch tools. Readers are encouraged to visit local water sites but will also find an abundance of material to perform at home. Included are practical examples, visualizations, and exercises so any reader can start to take up spell work and establish their spiritual connection to water.

Curses suck, but it’s just another day at Westwood Academy. Rio has known her whole life that she was different. The women in her family have been plagued by a deadly curse, and she’s next. There is only one place she can go to learn to control the magic that just might save her. Will she be able to make a place for herself in this strange world where witches and wizards, and other supernaturals, live under the rule of the omnipotent Council of Covens? Find out in Water Witch! Welcome to Westwood Academy. Forget what you know and let your magic run wild.