Meet Beth DuPree. Known to many in our community as an outstanding Healer/Physician.
Q: Tell us what you do?
A: I am currently serving as the medical director of three startup companies in healthcare. Two are in mental health, and the third is in non-narcotic pain management. I also consult with a lot of medical device companies that provide high-level intervention in current breast cancer care.
Q: Prior to this, what did you do?
A: I have been a practicing surgeon for 35 years and in the last 20 years, limited my practice to diseases of the breast, caring for women and men with breast cancer. On December 1, 2021, I took a break —however, I’m not done yet. I needed to exercise my ability to walk away from a situation that wasn’t honoring everything that I brought to the table.
Q: What brought you to Sedona?
A: In 2001, my family — my husband and our two boys, who were maybe three and nine, were on our way to the Grand Canyon. I had never been to Sedona. We were staying at a timeshare in Scottsdale and as luck would have it, my older son was very hungry, and we saw an exit sign for Burger King. I hate to admit that we were going there because I don’t eat fast food anymore. But we drove from SR 179 and as I’m driving here, I’m like, “Okay, how did I not know about this place?” I literally got sucked in. The red rocks had me from hello!
Then we headed up to Williams and went to the Grand Canyon and on the way back, stopped here once again. We went to Enchantment, hiked around a little bit and ate lunch at Tii Gavo.
We came back every year thereafter and stayed at a timeshare in West Sedona. We started coming for birthdays and anniversaries. During the difficult year of 2013 and 2014, when several of my friends, had the tragic losses of their children — from suicide, accidents and cancer — we came out here in 2014 and drove past Verde Valley Medical Center on the way to Jerome. I said, “Wow, that almost looks like a legitimate hospital. They probably have an operating room.”
We had actually planned, at some point, to come here and retire. But at that point in my life, I thought that I couldn’t go someplace where we don’t have state-of-the-art healthcare. So, that began the process of going home and telling my partners that I was on the three-to-five-year-plan on the East Coast.
At the time I was one of Philadelphia’s Top Docs, training residents. I had an academic appointment to the University of Pennsylvania and was on my hospital and leadership committees.
In 2016, we came to Sedona on vacation. My sister, who was a realtor, said, “Why don’t you just look around at neighborhoods?” I think the house that I currently live in was the eighth house I looked at and it had my name all over it. My husband says, “Great, we saw it for 20 minutes.” “We’ll never buy it.” “We don’t have the money.” We closed on the house on May 25th. I had talked to the health system and apparently, they had identified a need for higher-level breast cancer care. I was coming with or without the health system. I was being called here. It’s people that come here know that! You know when you get the call from “Mother Sedona,” you don’t say no. You just figure it out — it’s how it goes. We ended up moving here in the summer of 2017 and started at the health system in September of 2017.
Q: Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met since you’ve lived here?
A: I met her before I moved here when my book was to be published in 2006. I was at Linda Goldenstein’s Gallery. I had my eye on this raven that had a quill in its mouth and a little dragon in front of it. Dragonflies were my thing. The artist that was there that day was Shey Khandro.
Since I was on my own spiritual journey, I connected with Shey right away. I just loved her work. I have three of her pieces in my house and loved everything about her. I loved her energy; I loved the story of how she got here. How she went from being a Buddhist nun to a painter, to just this phenomenal human being.
You follow your heart’s passion, and the universe conspires to bring everything else to fruition. I’ve always loved her work. I love Linda Goldenstein for providing her work to the universe. I just have always thought that she’s just an incredible spiritual being, making the most of this human experience here in Sedona and sharing her vision or talent with everybody she meets.
So many people go through life, and they think because they start in one place that they just have to bust through to get to retirement and they miss that opportunity. I just saw her in her journey as brave, passionate and purposeful. She’s sharing her gifts with the world.
Q: Tell me about your book?
A: I wrote a book called “The Healing Consciousness, A Doctor’s Journey to Healing.” It came out in 2006. I actually finished the book here in Sedona and sent it to the publisher. Afterward, I went into Goldenstein Gallery and as my gift of completion, I bought this beautiful Raven statue, which has a little pouch with a dragonfly in the front. Those dragonflies are in my book.
That was how I got to know Shey so well, because she helped me find something within the gallery that was very meaningful. From there, I met Patricia Griffin, another artist from Pennsylvania. I’ve made some beautiful connections.
Q: Tell me what you did in India?
A: “My sister Sue, who’s a clinical social psychologist in Australia was doing work in a form of energy healing. The woman that was the head of the Harmony Center. She was a lawyer in her first iteration. Her spiritual name is Shakti Durga, her given name is Kim Frazier. She does beautiful healing work. I had met her through my sister and my sister was going on this retreat in January 2013.
I went with my sister to Varanasi India, which is known to Hindu’s as a place where they go when they die to be cremated. The whole trip was transformative.
I got to listen to the Dalai Lama. It was an absolutely beautiful spiritual experience for me.
I’m going back in December. I’m being honored by the Indian College of Surgeons. I’m getting conferred as a fellow of the Indian College of Surgeons because I’ve done some research and work. And it’s a big deal. This time I’m going to Mumbai. Last time I was in Bangalore with the Indian College of the Association of Breast Surgeons of India.
Q: When someone comes to visit you in Sedona, where do you take them?
A: That depends on their physical capabilities. If I have friends that come out that are in great shape, they do my favorite hikes. They do Bear Mountain and Wilson and they are not for the faint of heart. When I die or when I transition and my ashes are in my kids’ hands, I told them that they will be climbing up and taking them up Bear Mountain and throwing me into the canyon because it’s just the most beautiful place in the world. My oldest son appropriately responded, “Mom, it’s going to be very difficult for Dean and I to get up there with our walkers.”
Here’s the best part about Sedona. I have hikes that just about everybody can do of any capability and I think to get out and get your feet into the red rocks and into the dirt here is so healing. So, I always make sure that happens regardless of what their level is.
My husband works for Pink Jeep, and he actually read every book about Sedona — the geology, geography and the Native Americans. He’s a popular tour guy. He gets great reviews. It was one of the things we did when we first came here and we said in 2001,” Hey, someday maybe you’ll be driving a pink jeep.” And here he is! So, when he applied for the job, I printed up the picture of the kids sitting in the Jeep. We manifested this 20 years ago — whether you know it or not.
Q: What restaurants do you visit?
A: I go to all of them. But I have to say I love Lisa Dahl. I met Lisa in 2012. I love her food and her passion for food. She lost her son Justin, tragically. He was trying to be a good Samaritan. So, Dahl and Di Luca, Mariposa when I can get in. I love the Hudson; I love The Vault. I love food — so you can find something wonderful no matter where you go. Whether it’s Elote or Mole
Q: Is there anything that I have not asked you that you’d like to mention?
A: I am a healer that chose to be a physician in this lifetime. I started my career as a surgeon. My calling is really about bringing healing to a very, very deep soul level to more people.
We are going to be opening a clinic here in Sedona for mental wellness and well-being. I’ve recently trained in psychedelic therapy, and I believe that certain plants have a tremendous gift to play in the care and well-being of our world. They’d been around through indigenous cultures for years
Our mental health is our greatest wealth. I think that this is a town, a place geographically appropriately located to become the change agent for mental health and well-being in our world.
