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.
"In his new book, Lessons of the Wild, Ed Andersen brilliantly makes the case for the teaching, spiritual, and healing powers of the wilderness. But the scope of his vision is much broader and more integrated than that of other wilderness advocates; indeed, Andersen seamlessly weaves together faith, fear, prayer, beauty, danger, and love in a way that speaks compellingly to men and women everywhere. Generously supported with examples both historic and contemporary, the reader can feel his own vision expanding in response to Andersen's smooth and unpretentious prose and powerful message."
--Steven B. Sample
President, University of Southern California
"As a Park Ranger and father, I was struck by the moving and insightful revelations found in Ed Andersen's Lessons of the Wild. In my work and personal life, I see firsthand the educational and restorative power of wilderness. Andersen chronicles this well, and he explores the 'chasm' and its effects that develop when people completely separate themselves from the natural world. This book is a great tool to illustrate the importance of wilderness, in terms of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being."
--Scott Gediman
Chief, Media & External Relations, Yosemite National Park