One book · twenty teachings · a lifetime of listening

The teachings I was given at the old people's fires, set down before I go.

The plain teachings for the later years: silence, worry and regret, forgiveness, the pull of the land, and the long walk toward the passage. Spoken the way an elder would speak to you if you were sitting beside me in the evening.

The book

The Native Way

86 pages · 20 teachings + 3 companion books free

$37

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COMPLETE COLLECTION

Every book by the Elder

The Complete Elder Library

The Native Way + 3 free companions + The Questions I Never Answered on Camera, The Pages He Kept Back and The Signs They Left Us (7 books)

$112

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Book + the answers

The Native Way + The Questions I Never Answered on Camera

Ten Things People Ask an Old Man, Answered at Last

$84

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A note from the author

“I began setting them down so they would not be lost with me.”

For most of my life I have carried those teachings, and I have watched the world grow loud and quick around them. This book is all of it, set in order. No ceremony. No claiming to speak for anyone. Just the plain wisdom of the old people, handed on the way it was handed to me.

Joseph Standing Elk

Illustrated ebook · 86 pages

The complete book of elder teachings for the later years.

The power of silence. The weight of a regret you have carried too long. Forgiveness that finally sets you free. The pull of the land, and what the blood remembers. What comes after seventy, and how to make your peace with the passage.

$37

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Included today, no extra cost

The Elder's Morning Way, Evening Way and Animal Way.

Three companion books — a short reading to greet each new morning, one to close each night, and one about the animals that come to kind hearts. All three are yours the moment you get the book.

Get the book + 3 free, $37 →

The Elder's Morning Way — FREE
Morning Way

The Elder's Evening Way — FREE
Evening Way

The Elder's Animal Way — FREE
Animal Way

What's inside

Twenty teachings, grandchild — the whole of the road.

Each teaching is spoken plain: the trouble of it, the old way through, and an honest word from an elder who has walked it.

I. The Inside of a Life

The Power of Silence
Carrying Worry
When Is Enough, Enough
The Weight of Regret
Pride and the Bent Tree

II. The People Around Us

Forgiveness
Envy
Loneliness in a Full House
Patience with the Young
The Gift of Being Truly Seen

III. The Land and What Remembers

The Pull of the Land
What the Blood Remembers
Dreams Like Mail from Somewhere Old
The Fire You Kept
Belonging

IV. The Last Stretch of the Road

After Seventy
Legacy
Becoming
Listening to the Body's Signs
The Passage

Questions

Questions folks ask before they click.

Is this a printed book you mail me?

No. It is an ebook (PDF), 86 pages. Instant download, in your inbox within a minute of payment. Read it on any phone, tablet or computer, or print it.

Is this a book of ceremony or ritual?

No, grandchild, and I would never offer such a thing here. This is universal elder wisdom — teachings for the heart and the later years. It does not speak for any tribe or nation and contains no ceremonial or ritual instruction.

Is it a subscription? Will you charge my card again?

No. $37 once. No subscription. Yours forever.

What do I get for $37?

The Native Way (86 pages, 20 teachings in four parts) and three companion books free: The Elder's Morning Way, The Elder's Evening Way and The Elder's Animal Way.

What if the download does not arrive?

If your books ever fail to arrive, write to us within 7 days and we make it right or refund you.