Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, inspired a movement to connect children and nature. Now Louv redefines the future of human-animal coexistence, exploring these powerful and mysterious bonds and how they can transform our mental, physical, and spiritual lives, serve as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness, and help us tap into the empathy required to preserve life on Earth.
... fascinating ... In lyrical, sometimes mystical prose, [Louv] challenges our assumptions about how we relate to other species ... The importance of time spent with other species and the mutual acknowledgement and curiosity found in a shared interspecies gaze ultimately leads to an affirming sense of recognition between two beings.
Our Wild Calling is a thoughtful, calm, reasoned book, best read at a chapter-a-day pace, allowing time to think and digest what the author has presented ... Louv is given to digressions—to climate change, psychology, theologians, indigenous healers, loneliness and especially the degradation of the environment ... For many readers, though, the most interesting parts focus on the emerging evidence showing that our relationships with animals extend further than we have thought.
... examines a wide range of topics ... This book is for anyone interested in the profound interaction between animals and humans. Neatly divided into sections and brief chapters, Our Wild Calling reads like a series of short stories that merge into a bigger picture. This book covers a lot of territory, and the amount of information can feel overwhelming. Even with its heartwarming anecdotes and tinges of humor, it might be best appreciated in small doses ... Though it’s questionable that this book will convince someone to adopt a pet, what it will do is cause the reader to pause and appreciate the complexity of animals and their place in our world, while contemplating our 'calling' to protect that world.
