Lessons of the Wild: Learning from the Wisdom of Nature

Lessons of the Wild creates an awareness of the essential lessons that Nature teaches us, and provides a guidebook for men and women--particularly those in their forties, fifties, and sixties--who are seeking greater significance in their lives. This book traces the traditional meaning of wilderness, blended with deep reflections and fascinating stories told by ordinary--and some extraordinary--people, whose lives were dramatically altered by their experiences in wild places. In Lessons of the Wild, Ed Andersen proposes that we have become estranged from the "Source of our being" and that the wilderness is our "place of deep belonging." He calls for a rediscovery of our densely embedded affiliation with the Earth and its inhabitants. In support of this call, he offers five "paired paths to wisdom," called Habits of Wholeness, which ultimately lead the reader to the consideration of a radical personal freedom. The book is unique in the way that it captures the elusive relationship between the outer wilderness of Nature and the inner wilderness of the human spirit. Lessons of the Wild is also a book about transitions--particularly in the major passages from boyhood to manhood and from the middle years to an "age of wisdom." Lessons of the Wild is grounded in the profound conviction that wisdom can be drawn out of the wilderness and into everyday experience. And that, through Nature, we can begin to recover some of what's missing from our lives.

Edwin L. Andersen is an outdoorsman, fly-fisherman, and coach. He spent more than thirty years in the corporate world, most recently as a global sales manager for one of the world's leading career management companies. He coaches women's softball at the collegiate level and is the author of YMCA Life and Leadership (1997). He lives in southern California with Debbie, his wife of thirty-three years.