Oscar C. Perez

Dr. Oscar C. Pérez (the “C” is for Carbajal) is an author, speaker, and self-proclaimed “Underworld Guide” that has spent decades guiding people to reclaim their lives from the depths of their own personal hells. He was called to this work from his earliest years, being drawn to the healing and wisdom traditions of his ancestors at a very young age.

He is the founder of Tending The Fires, a school and community for healers and leaders that are at the forefront of the work of Soul Recovery – the alchemical process of healing personal and collective trauma through storytelling, ceremony, ritual, and re-membering our origins as Earth-based spiritual beings. He has worked with communities throughout the world, teaching and leading healing ceremonies for metabolizing unprocessed trauma and ancestral grief in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

His work with individuals in substance abuse recovery earned him the affectionate title of the “Recovery Shaman,” by members of that community, which alternately feels like a great honor and a somewhat humbling endeavor. He has a PhD from Brown University, where he studied how storytelling and ritual are used in intact cultures to help individuals and communities heal trauma. He currently resides in his ancestral lands of Southern New Mexico, where he teaches, acts as a guide and trauma recovery specialist, and spends much of his time attempting to honor and feed that which feeds Life.