Rewilding the Urban Soul: searching for the wild in the city

‘In Rewilding the Urban Soul, Claire asks an important question, “How can I expect us to fall in love with the world in the way that’s so needed if it’s dependent on going bush for a year? No, it has to be possible, right where we are.” A cliffhanger from that point on, Claire’s wonderful storytelling, research, and perspectives make it clear it’s not only possible, but it’s incredibly healing and fun! This book is essential for our times.’ -- Jon Young, author of Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature and What the Robin Knows ‘This beautiful and hopeful new memoir by Claire Dunn, about reconnecting with nature in the city, will leave you informed and inspired.’ * Stylist * ‘Love makes us move to the city. Duty makes us stay. But how do we create a liveable habitat for our bodies and spirits and relations in these murderous places? You might find the answer in this book.’ -- Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk ‘In this beautifully written book, Claire Dunn encourages the reader to welcome back the fox woman with her untameable pelt and unfamiliar woody scent, to cherish numinous encounters, to fall in love with the world, to be enchanted once again. She inspires the possibility to wildness, both inner and outer, for all those living within city limits and beyond. Rewilding the Urban Soul will stir people’s souls, for sure.’ -- Miriam Lancewood, author of Woman in the Wilderness and Wild at Heart ‘Claire Dunn, author of the classic My Year Without Matches, takes her next step into rewilding — the process of waking to the sit spot we call Earth. Even in cities, where the majority of people now live, we can still become indigenous to our universe. I was deeply moved by the eloquence of each page and the soul that fuels her words.’ -- Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods ‘Looking for what’s untamed and true, but you’re ensconced in the city? No need to leave town. The wild is all around you — and in you, and as you — and you could not have a more seasoned, engaging, or big-hearted guide than Claire Dunn, she who has devoted years to wandering trail, thicket, and waterway, as well as the urban wilds. No matter your address, this deeply wise and spellbinding book is your portal out of the Matrix and into the Real, into the windswept world as beloved, into the mysteries of both nature and your own psyche, a siren’s song you cannot afford to resist.’ -- Bill Plotkin, author of Soulcraft, Wild Mind, and The Journey of Soul Initiation ‘In the same way that Wohlleben wants us to visit the woods to connect with nature, Claire Dunn implores us to search for it within our urban environments. Spawned from a year living completely off-grid, Dunn explores the practices that make it possible for even the most ardent city slicker to enjoy a healthier relationship with the wilderness that surrounds us all.’ * Happy Mag, starred review * ‘Part memoir, part urgent appeal, Claire Dunn’s new book explores how our urban lives can become more intimate with nature … [Rewilding the Urban Soul] is made of love, and it draws us in.’ -- Tracy Sorensen * The Newtown Review of Books * ‘[T]hose intrigued by the wildness just beyond their apartment windows will find this to be a gem.’ * Publishers Weekly * Praise for My Year Without Matches: ‘This is a brave and adventurous book - a memoir that took me into the heart of the wilderness through the eyes of a courageous young woman. Claire’s writing is full of life and profound surprises. She writes with stunning intricacy of the world around her as she is caught in the spell of the wilderness. Read, and you will be caught in the ripple of the land as Claire leads us into alien yet intimate landscapes.’ -- Anne Deveson AO, author of Tell Me I'm Here and Resilience Praise for My Year Without Matches: ‘Claire Dunn’s account of her year of living simply is so beautifully written, with such wisdom, wit and heart, and so many well-observed details, that you feel yourself alongside a dear friend, seeing and experiencing all she does, and hoping the journey will never end. This is the best, most honest book I have read in a long time.’ -- Louise Southerden, award-winning travel writer Praise for My Year Without Matches: ‘This is a surprising and remarkable account of one woman's quest to reconnect with the earth and herself. Written with raw honesty, humour, and poetic beauty, Claire swept me along through the swamps and mountaintops of her experience. Thrumming with the sounds of nature, read this book and hear in yourself the call to the wilds.’ -- John Seed, co-author of Thinking Like a Mountain