Book Review Episode 287: Liturgies of the Wild

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Here is a rosary of soaring myth, gripping narrative, and deep wisdom, all told with breathtaking verve that enchants and sweeps us along, from first word to last. A superb, inspiring read.” —GABOR MATÉ, author of The Myth of Normal From "one of the greatest storytellers we have" (Robert Bly), an urgent invitation to allow the oldest stories—and the Greatest Story—to reshape our own. We live in a time of "thin" stories—narratives that leave us hungry and disconnected from the earth beneath our feet. In his latest work, Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us, master mythologist Martin Shaw invites us to step out of the digital hum and back into the "tangled, briar-thick" wisdom of the old stories. This isn't just an analysis of folklore; it is a ritual of return. Today, we sit by the metaphorical fire to discuss how ancient myths aren't just artifacts of the past, but living maps for navigating the modern wilderness of the soul. We explore the "liturgies" found in the rustle of leaves and the tracks of animals, asking: What stories are we actually living? What we’re covering: The Mythic Imagination: Why facts tell us how we live, but myths tell us why we matter. The "Wild" Church: Moving beyond stone walls to find the sacred in the ecology of the world. Initiation and Grief: How to handle the "holy darkness" of our current era without losing heart. Language as Magic: Rediscovering a way of speaking that honors the intelligence of the non-human world. Becoming an Ancestor: How living a "deep story" today creates a legacy for the generations to come. "The wild is not just a place we visit; it is a language we have forgotten how to speak. It’s time to remember." Martin Shaw myth, Liturgies of the Wild, mythopoetics, depth psychology, storytelling and nature, wilderness spirituality, eco-mythology, C.G. Jung and myth, Joseph Campbell style storytelling, ancestral wisdom, pagan theology, rewilding the soul, British folklore, rites of passage.