By Mary Louder, DO
There are seasons in life when everything begins to align—the inner world, the outer path, and something deeper still, a current that tugs at your soul and whispers, Now. It’s time. This fall, on the day the Earth tips into equilibrium—September 23, 2025, the Autumn Equinox—I’ll be offering something that has been quietly writing me for decades.
I’m thrilled (and a little wobbly-kneed with awe) to announce the official launch of my first book:
Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling: Becoming the Physician Healer I Was Meant to Be.
It’s a memoir, yes. But it’s also something else. A map, a mirror, a medicine bundle.
It’s a story that began long before I ever sat down to write—woven through childhood days of lilacs and tire swings, through medical residencies and moments of rupture, through shamanic ceremonies, near-death experiences, and tender reckonings with my own body. It’s about being a doctor, but also being a daughter, a woman, a seeker, a reluctant shaman, and a whole human navigating the mess and miracle of healing.
And now… I’m offering this story to you.
Why This Book, Why Now?
If you’ve ever stood at a crossroads in your life—wondering what comes next, feeling the ache of something unspoken just beneath your skin—you already understand the essence of this book. Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling is a journey of remembering. Remembering what it means to heal. Remembering who we are beyond the roles we play. Remembering that we are never separate from Love, no matter how it may feel in our darkest hours.
I wrote it not just to share what I’ve lived—but to hold space for what you’re living.
This is not a book about becoming a doctor. It’s a book about becoming yourself—fully, honestly, even when it doesn’t fit the mold you were handed. It’s about how our bodies carry truth, how Spirit keeps showing up (whether we notice or not), and how healing isn’t something that happens in a clinic alone—it happens in living rooms, ceremonies, forests, and yes, in the most unexpected places: like eating cake with God or having a breakdown in your own kitchen.
What You’ll Find (Without Spoiling the Magic)
I won’t give away all the medicine tucked inside these pages, but here’s what I can tell you.
You’ll meet my younger self—curious, intuitive, and often confused by a world that didn’t speak the same language of wonder and sacredness that I felt deep in my bones. You’ll walk with me through medical school, where the systems of healing sometimes felt sterile, and through personal griefs and awakenings that cracked my heart open and pointed me toward a wider form of medicine—one that includes the soul.
You’ll read about the moments that shaped me—not just the shiny ones, but the hard ones, the wobbly ones, the ones where I questioned everything. And you’ll meet the wise old tortoise (yes, really) who helped me finish this book on her own divine timeline.
And more than anything?
You’ll be invited to see your own story with new eyes.
Pre-Sales Begin August 2025
Beginning this August, Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling will be available for presale on Amazon. Early orders are more than just purchases—they’re a kind of sacred witnessing. When you preorder, you send a ripple out into the universe that says, these kinds of stories matter.
You also help this book find its way to more readers—those who may be silently searching for their own soul’s path, unsure where to begin.
We’ll be offering special surprises for early preorders, including a behind-the-scenes video, an exclusive Q&A, and a few soulful goodies I’m cooking up in my creative cauldron. So stay tuned for those details very soon.
Global Launch: September 23, 2025 – The Autumn Equinox
Why the Equinox?
Because there’s something poetic—and purposeful—about launching a book on the day the world pauses in balance. Equal light and dark. The turning point between outward growth and inward reflection. A threshold moment.
This book is a threshold too.
Whether you read it curled up on your couch, take it with you on retreat, or sip it like tea one chapter at a time, my hope is that it meets you wherever you are… and brings you one step closer to yourself.
A Top Seller in the Making
Now, I’ll admit—it feels a little odd to say this next part out loud, but here we go:
We have big dreams for this book.
Even before it launched, Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling began stirring up beautiful momentum. Readers of the advance manuscript have called it “soulful,” “disarming,” “like sitting with a wise friend who sees your essence.” One early reviewer shared: “This book reminded me that I am not broken. Just becoming.”
Our hope is to land this book in Amazon’s Top 100 in Health & Wellness, Spiritual Memoir, and Women’s Inspirational Writing. Not for vanity—but because that visibility means more people who need this story will actually find it. And in a world where burnout, illness, and disconnection are epidemic, that kind of storytelling is a balm.
So yes—this book may very well be a bestseller. But what matters most is that it is a soul-teller.
Who This Book Is For
This is for you if...
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You’ve ever wondered if there’s more to medicine than prescriptions and protocols.
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You’ve felt a deep calling inside but weren’t sure how (or whether) to trust it.
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You’ve survived something—an illness, a loss, a spiritual crisis—and are piecing yourself back together.
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You’ve been walking a healing path and want a companion who doesn’t shy away from the messy middle.
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You’re a seeker, a feeler, a listener, a healer (formally or informally), and you believe in a world where soul matters.
This isn’t a how-to. It’s a here-we-are.
And while it’s told through my story as a physician, it’s really an offering for anyone who wants to reclaim their sacred, embodied, resilient self.
A Word from My Heart
When I sat down to write this book, I had no idea it would become a spiritual initiation of its own. I thought I was telling stories. But in truth, I was uncovering lifelines—memories and messages that I had tucked away in order to survive.
It required me to slow down, to listen, to write with tears in my eyes, and to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all.
It reminded me—over and over again—that healing is not a destination. It is a relationship. With your body. With your spirit. With the world. With Love itself.
If there’s one message I hope Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling leaves in your heart, it’s this:
You were never broken.
You are not behind.
Your soul has always known the way.
And Love has never left your side.
How to Order
You can preorder the book on Amazon starting in August 2025. We’ll share the direct link via email, social media, and on my website at drmarylouder.com.
The official launch day is September 23, 2025. The book will also be available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats (yes, I recorded it myself—and yes, there are stories I could only tell with my actual voice).
Stay tuned for book signings, virtual launch events, and maybe even a cozy fireside Zoom reading. We’ll be celebrating every step of the way.