Why We Need to Be Wild: One Woman’s Quest for Ancient Human Answers to 21st Century Problems

Journalist Kraft’s revealing debut chronicles her evolution from urbanite working mom to foraging woodswoman. After her mother died from multiple sclerosis complications, which Kraft attributed partly to a sedentary, nutritionally insufficient Western lifestyle, the author began to consider the ill effects of modern life and concluded that “we are shackled to fast food, cheap oil, and chronic debt, while our social worlds have collapsed... to the tiniest handheld screen.” Kraft was inspired to learn about a “Paleolithic” lifestyle and began attending gatherings to learn such “ancestral skills” as hide tanning and basket weaving. Later, she toured the country meeting members of the “rewilding” movement (which calls for adherents to “move, work, sleep, socialize, sleep, socialize, raise families, and produce goods the way the early hunter-gatherers did”). The author currently lives in the Sierra Foothills, and while she retains some modern “comforts” (living in a single family home, getting basic goods from strangers), she ultimately realized that “the more I unleash myself from the tethers of domestication, the happier I feel.” Kraft candidly discusses the movement’s flaws—including its lack of diversity—while offering informative insights into its ecological and social benefits. Readers who’ve questioned the pitfalls of tech-based living will be intrigued. (Aug.)