Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

Description

An inspiring meditation on the intersection of science, nature, and spirit that shows readers how to deepen their connection to the natural world. Science. Nature. Spirit. They do not, need not, and should not overlap completely. But at that center where they do intersect? When we stand in that singular, curving triangle looking upon our troubled, beloved earth? At that crossroads there is intelligence, and sacredness, and wildness, and grace. There is clear-sighted hope in a time of despair. There is resistance. There is joy. In this beautiful, thoughtful, and inspiring book, ecophilosopher, naturalist, and award-winning author Lyand Lynn Haupt offers serious invitation to ecological consciousness and action - a swift and beautiful manual inspiring readers to stand in a new way for the natural world. With Haupt's own changing and growing perceptions as a life-long student of nature as a through-line, FROG CHURCH offers an antidote to the plagues of modern life based in science, spirituality, and nature. In this mystifying time of climate upheaval that affects the earth so dramatically, people are afraid and uncertain of where to turn, where to direct their inborn love of nature. FROG CHURCH delivers much-needed solace while inspiring readers to engage with the wild earth in new ways. The intertwining of science, nature, and spirit shows readers how to get grounded and move forward on our beloved, imperiled world.

Lyanda Lynn Haupt is an ecophilosopher, naturalist, and author of several books, including The Urban Bestiary, Crow Planet, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent, and Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds. A winner of the Washington State Book Award and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, she lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter.

"A personal series of short meditations, very intimate. I put this book in the kind of tradition or sharing the spirit of Robin Wall Kimmerer's great book Braiding Sweetgrass."--Richard Powers, New York Times "Exquisite, deceptively simple, lustrous with enigma and pulsing with ache, practical, humble, and honest: Rooted nourishes the wild earth struggling to breathe within us and all around us."--David Abram, author of Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology "From barefooted forest walks to the curiosities of what becomes of us when we die, Rooted challenges readers to reconsider their relationships to the natural world. Part-manifesto, part-love note, this exploration of wild connections inspires and delights."--Caroline Van Hemert, author of The Sun is a Compass "Lyanda Lynn Haupt is a nature mystic, which is to say a now rare but entirely normal human who never lost touch with her innate rootedness in the greater web of life. An enchanting and lyrical writer, she celebrates in graceful prose her viscerally experienced kinship with frogs and forests, whales and wind, snakes and starlings. In Rooted, she swings open the gateway hidden in plain sight, the wild portal that beckons us onto the braided barefoot pathway where we might learn again 'how to live on our broken, imperiled, beloved earth' -- if we dare to wander into that magic. There's nothing more urgent and there's no one more gifted at conjuring and illuminating the trail." --Bill Plotkin, PhD, author of Soulcraft, Wild Mind, and The Journey of Soul Initiation "Radiant with reverence, sparkling with surprises, and brimming with insight, Rooted is a lyrical and intimate handbook on how to live a mindful, joyful, fruitful life in harmony with our sweet green earth." --Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature "An elegant tapestry of poetry and science, of personal narrative and communal prophesy, this beautifully written book is drenched in wonder. It is a celebration of interconnectedness and belonging, a wild sacrament, a love song to life." --Mirabai Starr, author of Caravan of No Despair and Wild Mercy "With her deep intuition and expansive attention as our guides, Lyanda Haupt's gorgeous words create a path to the place where science and spirit meet. It's a barefoot path that wanders through solitudes and into community with frogs, moose, orca, and our own wildness."--Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass "Bold, lucid, lyrical, wise. In Rooted, Lyanda Lynn Haupt re-imagines and rediscovers connectedness, exploring our relationships to nature through the rhythms of daily life. A timely, and though-provoking read."--Thor Hanson, author of Buzz and The Triumph of Seeds "Rooted is luminous and living proof of its own central premise: that all things are connected, and that activism and creativity can be a powerful combination. Part philosophical and personal exploration, part environmental manifesto, written with a gloriously poetic sensibility, Rooted feels like a literary love child of Rachel Carson and Mary Oliver. Find yourself a quiet place, preferably under a tree, and let Lyanda Lynn Haupt teach you how to embrace the "tangled empathy" of living not as a dominant species, but as one of many."--Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of The Scent Keeper and House Lessons "An extraordinary guide to wonder and belonging. Shattering dualities--science/spirit, dark/light, human/nature--Haupt leads us into the delicious presence of the living Earth. In a time of isolation and fragmentation, her many insights are beautiful and much-needed invitations to wholeness and connection."--David Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees "A masterful melding of the mystical and the material. A great read."--Bernd Heinrich, author of White Feathers and Racing the Clock