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The Way Home
- Tales from a Life Without Technology
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Professionals & Academics
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This has changed my life
- By Amazon Customer on 30-10-18
Summary
It was 11:00 pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever.
No running water, no car, no electricity or any of the things it powers: the internet, phone, washing machine, radio, or light bulb. Just a wooden cabin, on a smallholding, by the edge of a stand of spruce.
The Way Home is a modern-day Walden - an honest and lyrical account of a remarkable life lived in nature without modern technology. Mark Boyle, author of The Moneyless Man, explores the hard-won joys of building a home with his bare hands, learning to make fire, collecting water from the stream, foraging, and fishing.
What he finds is an elemental life, one governed by the rhythms of the sun and seasons, where life and death dance in a primal landscape of blood, wood, muck, water, and fire - much the same life we have lived for most of our time on earth. Revisiting it brings a deep insight into what it means to be human at a time when the boundaries between man and machine are blurring.
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What listeners say about The Way Home
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 22-08-19
Life changing!
This is the most inspirational life changing book I have ever listened to! I didn’t want it to end and binge listened to it over a weekend. Beautifully written, this book is gentle and loving as well as offering a wealth of information on the subject of living off grid. I can’t recommend highly enough. Well narrated too!
5 people found this helpful
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- mr a thomson
- 10-08-19
A wonder of a book, inspiring.
If you are interested in taking a journey into an old way of life, which recognises the need for our reconnection too nature, and that mindfully considers our inpact on the environment without overly romaticising it, this book is for you. I loved Marks poetic, honest and somewhat nostalgic approach to story telling, a great listen.
4 people found this helpful
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- Ben
- 02-09-20
Beautifully narrated
A book with little science and a lot of soul. For someone that loves science and knowledge this is still somehow better for it
2 people found this helpful
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- English Country Life
- 20-06-19
Mostly a "stream of consciousness"
Not a bad book but one lacking any structure. The author aims for a simple, off grid, life. His musings on the subject are interesting but could do with less numerous quotations from other authors (had I wanted their thoughts, I would have bough their book). I made it to the end and salute the author for his aims, but often, not his methods.
4 people found this helpful
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- Di
- 06-09-20
A more in tune way to live
We should take the time to read this book and more importantly learn from it and become more enriched in our lives. Beautifully written and read a wonderful book. Thank you.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-08-20
A grounding exercise
Loved every word. A lesson in how we're meant to be outside with the land
1 person found this helpful
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- Thisisme
- 26-07-20
Modern day St. Francis
Inspirational lifestyle choices. If only we all lived a bit more like Mark our planet would be happier, we would be happier and more connected. Read and start the re-wilding.
1 person found this helpful
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- Rachael
- 20-07-20
A grower...
I enjoyed the book but it took a while to grow on me. At first I wasn't so keen on the author, he comes across as a bit arrogant. But I'm glad I stuck it out, my opinion of him has now changed. The narration is great, nice and clear.
1 person found this helpful
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- Chris
- 17-06-20
Fantastic Book
I really loved this book. Read it with an open mind. Well written and well read.
1 person found this helpful
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- Russ
- 28-05-20
A fascinating perspective .
Mark offers a fascinating insight into his daily life and catalogues his journey and feelings as he lives a more sustainable existence close to nature and without the destruction and distraction of modern technology one which our ancestors would have known only to well. As I listened intently to him, the irony was not lost on me that has Mark has made recent changes to live without modern technology that I was intact enabled to listen to him via it! via Audiobook, purchased via the internet on my heavily mined and unsustainable smartphone. I respect his choices even if I'm not certain I fully agree with them all. Regardless of that Mark has made these changes with the best intentions and as the Gandhi once said you must 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' I onehundred percent agree with that. Dia dhaoibh Mark
1 person found this helpful
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- Sarge
- 27-08-19
Life changing!
As a self proclaimed "wannabe Luddite", I found this book absolutely fascinating. Now, I want to give up all of this needless and frustrating technology!
3 people found this helpful
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- Brian
- 24-06-19
Man thinks....man does
This was a great listen. Makes you think long and hard about your impact on the world and those around you. How many of us make the difficult choice to LIVE by our ideals like the author does? I suspect that most people only ever THINK of taking action, but Mr. Boyle actually creates a lifestyle around his ideals. The irony of listening to this book while commuting to my corporate job is not lost on me. This book gave me much to ponder and I have been thinking about it since. Highly recommend this book.
3 people found this helpful
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- Djani Drocic
- 05-10-20
A must read for anyone
Amazing book well written and masterfully narrated. If you believe that what we currently are doing is purposeful and for filling don’t read this book, otherwise enjoy.
1 person found this helpful
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- Gary Clouse
- 13-11-19
Profound and meditative
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narration was superb, I just love that Irish lilt. In some ways, nothing much happens in this tale of a man‘s journey away from technology. But in more profound ways, everything happens. While I would never want to live the life of the author, I respect his sincere beliefs and his commitment to honoring them in practice. I didn’t want this story to end. I hope it hasn’t.
1 person found this helpful
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- Sherry Lugone
- 09-01-21
Mind-changing!
Mark Boyle is a voice of sanity in a hurry man's intent on destroying itself and all other life with them. Neo-Luddite and proud of it.
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- W. Snyder
- 24-12-20
Rambling disjointed story
No idea about the author or anything else. I do believe this has some good ideas but it’s just not any kind of coherent story.
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- Ezra
- 05-12-20
In general a bit disappointing.
As a lover of many of the books quoted extensively in this book; one would think I would love it, but it comes off more as the single minded ramblings of someone who has a large chip on their shoulder than a reasoned and thoughtful musing on living. It was rather repetitive and just didn’t resonate with me.
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- Anonymous User
- 14-11-20
Loved it.
Great read and inspiring story. Loads of things to reflect upon. Made me think about quite a few things i take for granted
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- Madeline
- 06-10-20
Food for the Soul
This book is inspiring, beautiful, and soothing for those of us who are growing weary of the technological age. Mark Boyle gives a raw and honest account of the beauty, ugliness, complexity, simplicity, and all-encompassing wonder of life. Spend some time today outside with your shoes off, and feel what it means to be human.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-10-20
Thanks to Mark
Thank you Mark, even if you never get to see this review I want the world to know those of us trying to get out from under the industrialized wheel need stories like this to keep us headed the way of the wild! It only took me a PhD to see I belong in the woods.