Book Review
“Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible
Simon Barnes
These are the opening lines of Simon Barnes’ book ‘Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible’, and from the moment I read them, I knew this book was going to be something special. As humans, we crave that feeling of being understood, of finding someone who sees the world in a way that mirrors our own hazy, unspoken thoughts. That’s exactly what happened for me on page one. Somehow, Barnes managed to pluck a complicated tangle of feelings straight out of my head and translate them into words. That subtle grief for the wild, the ache for something I can’t quite name, the quiet longing for a world we barely look at anymore… it’s all there.
I’ve only read the first chapter so far, but I couldn’t help writing about it already. That’s how stirred I felt. The writing is gentle but piercing, like a birdcall at dusk, the kind that makes you stop mid-step and wonder. Barnes doesn’t overwhelm you with science, or guilt for a world you haven’t been paying attention to, but invites you back into a way of seeing. A way of being. One where you can start to notice again.
This book isn’t just for seasoned hikers or nature nerds. It’s for people like me; people who want to connect, or reconnect with the earth, who feel that pull towards something more grounded, but don’t know exactly where to begin. The first chapter alone felt like a guidepost. It reminded me that I don’t have to fly to a remote jungle or live off-grid to rediscover the wild. I just need to start paying attention. To remember that I am part of it, too.
One quote from the first chapter especially lit something up in me:
‘Wild we are in our deeper selves: We are hunter-gatherers in suits and dresses and jeans and T-shirts. We have been civilised — tame — for less than 1 percent of our existence as a species.’
I absolutely love this. It’s a thought that’s always lingered in the back of my mind. That we, as humans, evolved so rapidly in such a short window of time, that something ancient in us got left behind. Something vital. And now we walk around with this quiet restlessness - scrolling, shopping, rushing - all the while yearning for a connection we can’t quite name.
‘We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. We're beginning to think it's not really our business. We're beginning to act as if it's not there anymore.’ - Simon Barnes
