Award winning writer Maia Toll has been many things— a horseback riding teacher, a clinical herbalist, and a university professor— but by far her favorite title is author. Her best-selling Wild Wisdom series (The Illustrated Herbiary, The Illustrated Bestiary, & The Illustrated Crystallary) offers a glimpse into the knowings of the natural world and the wilds within ourselves. Maia contemplated these insights during her yearlong apprenticeship to a traditional healer in Ireland. Though apprenticeship sounds terribly romantic, it was most often lonely, leaving Maia plenty of time to listen to the ravens, roses, and rocks. She quickly learned that the world was a whole lot bigger than her human-centric upbringing had led her to believe. When not obsessively reading books and “talking” to trees, stones, and her two dogs, Maia drinks copious amounts of tea and helps run Herbiary, a multi-city natural wellness and sacred living store she owns with her partner Andrew. She teaches and blogs to an international following at maiatoll.com where she constantly reminds people that using critical thinking skills and talking to flowers are not mutually exclusive activities.