"Soul Retrieval" is a novel about self-reclamation. Mary Dixon's soul retrieval came the hard way: through mires of drug addiction and abuse and a family steeped with mental illness. The chapter headers of "Soul Retrieval" travel the topics of Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" and tackle all of life's most profound themes, from Love all the way to Death. The shamanistic practice and ritual of soul-retrieval: find those pieces one has lost along the way in life-find them and become whole again. Along the way, Mary learns to forgive and let go of her toxic past.The novel begins with a present-day frame, with the opening chapter, "The Coming of the Ship". Mary is riding a train in France. She doesn't speak the language and can't find her seat.

She wanders from car to car with her overstuffed suitcases, astonished to find herself within this absurdly apt living metaphor. This symbol of life and its sections: train cars for life-stories, connected together. She has a copy of "The Prophet" which turns out to be more important to her life story than she realized. She begins to recall, to meditate, and so the story begins.Her first memory hinges on her return to Maine in the 1990s from California. Her parents bring her to a rehab in Maine, where she is the first heroin addict to be treated, and where a racist counselor is in charge of her case. This unlikely man, who fought in Viet Nam, tells his "killer" story again and again, and Mary hates him. Then it becomes clear that she's telling her own "killer" story and that "soul retrieval" won't take place unless she comes to terms with her own tall tales.

She wants to change her origin story, and it is revealed that this is her ultimate aim as the narrative moves forward.