It was 11pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever.
No running water,no car,no electricity or any of the things it powers: the internet,phone,washing machine,radio or light bulb. Just a wooden cabin,on a smallholding,by the edge of a stand of spruce.
In this honest and lyrical account of a remarkable life without modern technology,Mark Boyle explores the hard won joys of building a home with his bare hands,learning to make fire,collecting water from the spring,foraging and fishing.
What he finds is an elemental life,one governed by the rhythms of the sun and seasons,where life and death dance in a primal landscape of blood,wood,muck,water,and fire - much the same life we have lived for most of our time on earth. Revisiting it brings a deep insight into what it means to be human at a time when the boundaries between man and machine are blurring.
Publisher: Oneworld PublicationsISBN: 9781786077271Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 21 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A warts-and-all look at an extreme way of life,but one that,by the end of this engrossing book,makes the world around it seem dysfunctional'- The Irish Independent
'Boyle's memoir of his first year off-grid is fascinating... A poetic meditation on the almost-mystical benefits of falling in sync with nature.'-The New Statesman
'(A) reflective,lyrical account... This genuine,warm-hearted analysis of the dysfunctions of our current world offers a surprisingly alluring alternative to our current malaise - if only we dared adopt it.'- Manchan Magan,The Iirsh Times
'Don't buy my books: buy this instead,while there's still time for you to change. This one matters. Boyle is the real thing: vital,angry,and kind. And real things are terribly rare. You might think his ideas are dangerous,but in fact they represent the only possible safety.'- Charles Foster,author of Being a Beast
'A beautiful and thought-provoking story that will inspire you to live differently. Mark asks the most fundamental questions then sets out to live the answers.'- Lily Cole
'The Way Home paints a picture not only of how broken our culture has become,but of how to begin building a new one. It demands to be read - and then lived by.'- Paul Kingsnorth
Kommentar