Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature

Trade Paperback

Examining the cultural belief that our animal instincts are to be corrected or corralled, nature advocate and rewilding facilitator Vanessa Chakour explores our inner and outer landscapes through the lens of wild animals.

How can wolves, misunderstood in myths but vital to ecosystems, teach us to rewrite dangerous stories and respect natures wisdom? How do the peaceful coexistence strategies of black bears offer insights into sharing resources? How can the engineering feats of beavers guide us in fostering regenerative building solutions and vibrant ecosystems? What can the loyal partnership of seahorses teach us about nurturing and love?

In Earthly Bodies, Vanessa draws parallels from struggles she has weathered in her own life to those endured by twenty-three wild animalsfrom wolves to sea lionsexploring our unease of feeling like prey; challenging the entrapment of our limiting beliefs; contextualizing the turmoil of fractured landscapes; and affirming our primal ache to belong.

Vanessas pivotal encounters with creatures in sync with their primal rhythms and demands illustrate the necessity of relying on the intelligence of gut instinct; of the magnetic pull of attraction; of the bodys mandate for restorative rest; and of the sacred bonds of love. We often cut ourselves off from identifying with wild animalslike wolves, foxes, bats and bears, and other animal relativesout of fear, ignorance, disgust, or misunderstanding, yet our earthly human bodies can lead us in our pursuits of pleasure, love, wonder, healing, and connection.

With each section containing an aspect of injured animals return home to their natural habitat, andin our caseto an embodied, instinctual self, Earthly Bodies meditates on how this journey from enclosures, to rehabilitation, to soft release, and finally to homing raises questions about our humanity. In so learning, we understand how we might benefit from embracing our own animal nature to gain deeper self-actualization, find common ground with our fellow animals, and learn to thrive together.