Book review: Rooted

Rooted, Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature and Spirit By Lynn Haupt

Lyanda Lynn Haupt, is a naturalist, an ecophilosopher and author. A self-described “tree-hugging dirt worshiper,” has an eco-based philosophy to her writing which she describes as “exploring the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world”. 

Thanks to technology, our predominately urban lifestyles and demographics we have probably moved away from nature than any previous generation. In Rooted Haupt looks to focus us back on how we can learn to live with the natural world in simple ways such as rethinking our relationship and interconnectedness with animals and trees and even how we think about nature.   

Haupt (together with illustrations by Susan Nicholson) has laid out Rooted in a series of easily digestible topics such as walking barefoot in the woods, reimagining our relationship with animals and trees, to examining the language we use to describe and think about nature and concluding with a chapter on how we return to the soil in death. 

Rooted seeks to remind us that we can find hope at the crossroads of science, nature, and spirit and she lays out a series of easily digestible ideas and tools designed to transform our perception how we belong within the natural world and start to develop a more earth centered awareness. 

In Rooted, Haupt combines recent scientific discoveries with personal observations, references to poets, artists, mythological tales, and physical practices to demonstrate how all life on earth is interconnected.    

Why some readers may perceive Rooted as being too much on the “new age” side I think it needs an open mind and given the challenges we face in today’s world maybe a jolt of new age thinking is what we need.  In reality knowledge is always evolving and scientific discoveries continue to emerge that show processes, connections and phenomena in nature that only a short time ago would have been considered as inconceivable.  Clearly, we are an integral part of the life sustaining interconnected natural world and its time we embraced that reality.    

Rooted is an inspiring easy to read book that makes you rethink our relationship with nature and a book everyone will get something out of.

@BlackTealBay books rating 7.5/10