OCEAN OF SOUND (CD) by Pepe Danza | SOCAN, $17
Craving a cultural adventure close to home? Ocean of Sound, the latest offering from Vancouver musician, producer, and drummer extraordinaire Joseph “Pepe” Danza, reflects Pepe’s eclectic background of world music and unique expressions of spirituality. His electrifying drumming is complemented by a wide range of “instruments” including chimes, gongs, Tibetan bowls, bells, shamanic rattles and gourds, as well as chants from diverse spiritual traditions. If trekking in Nepal or paddling down the Amazon isn’t an option right now, let this “ocean of sound” wash over you and take you toyour happy place.
–Erica Gehrke

LIVING YOUR UNLIVED LIFE: Coping with Unrealized Dreams and Fulfilling Your Purpose in the Second Half of Life (Book) by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl | tarcher/penguin, $14.95
As midlife approaches, even the most successful person can find she has unrealized dreams. Result: the dreaded “midlife crisis.” Esteemed Jungian psychologists Johnson and Ruhl explain this restlessness in their 2007 book, available now in paperback. Through clinical anecdotes and Jungian dream and archetypal work, the authors offer insightful exercises designed to isolate repressed feelings of regret, using imagination as a tool for healing and rejuvenation.
–Stephanie MacDonald

DYING TO HAVE KNOWN: The Evidence Behind Natural Healing (DVD) by Steve Kroschel | cinemalibrestudio.com, $19.95
Filmmaker Steve Kroschel embarks on a global journey to find evidence to support the Gerson Therapy, a nutrition-based approach for curing cancer developed 75 years ago. Kroschel reviews hard scientific proof showing Gerson’s effectiveness, and interviews patients and doctors whose success stories of the treatment are testament to its worth. Meanwhile, other medical experts interviewed denounce Gerson outright as quackery. The underlying message is that dark forces (hint: Big Pharma, for one) have been behind the suppression of this natural, totally drug-free cure from the get-go.
–Tamara Letkeman