What does it take to grow from a sweaty-palmed new graduate who just hung out the shingle to an unflappable master who can diagnose a liver dysfunction while over the phone? In Saplings - On the Path to Mastery, sixteen acupuncturists and herbalists share their experiences of the challenging first years of practice. Written by practitioners while in the thick of the often-lonely quest to heal patients, run a business and adapt book-based theories to the real world, the essays in this book are charged with the urgency of the present moment. Saplings vividly describes the joys and struggles of being a fledgling practitioner of Oriental medicine, and illustrates the manifold paths that can lead from wide-eyed neophyte to full-fledged professional. Where did the idea come from? The first steps in any endeavor are rocky, but by the time one reaches a certain level of competency, memories of this period become hazy or glazed over with nostalgia. The short time I have treated patients outside of the intern clinic has been a fascinating and transformative period. Through it, I have completely revamped my technique, gone through enormous changes in my opinions toward the field of Oriental medicine, and been forced to face up to significant weaknesses. Thankfully I was not alone, and conversations about this process with fellow practitioners not only helped me regain stability, but lent this time a curiosity and sense of liberation that were absent in the prescribed curriculum of school. This feeling of being understood is perhaps one of the most fulfilling experiences there is. This fellowship can be as casual as a conversation with a stranger about the baseball team you both follow or as intimate as a forty-year marriage, and is essential for a fulfilling career. Such conversations with fellow practitioners in my first years of practice, and the support and encouragement I received from them, were the inspiration for Saplings - On the Pa