The Wildwood Way, Spiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature

by Cliff Seruntine

Discover the profound inspiration of a life lived in truly wild places. Author Cliff Seruntine and his family have lived their lives in the wilderness—homesteading, hunting and gathering, farming, and treading lightly on the land while honoring its spirits. Let Cliff's graceful pen lead you to a deeper understanding of Nature's magic as he shows you practical bushcraft skills such as woodland navigation, wild food foraging, tracking, herbalism, camouflage, and much more.

The true stories in the book have powerful truths at their heart. In these pages you will read tales of bear and deer, of towering maples and mysterious brooks, of the spiritual forces to be found outdoors. The best way to come to the fullness of Nature's truths is to become a part of the adventure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Spirituality

480 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2015

About the author

Cliff Seruntine is a naturalist, a practicing shaman, a writer and mandolinist, and a psychotherapist with a busy private practice. He grew up in the backcountry among French speaking Acadians. Cliff was always one to roam the outdoors and spent many hours among the elders of the countryside, absorbed in their folklore. Shortly after Cliff began college, he took a hiatus to see Alaska that turned into a decade and a half sojourn in the wilderness. Often dwelling at a remote cabin, Cliff became immersed in the art of gently living with nature.

Years later Cliff and his wife, Daphne, came to desire a place where they could cultivate their own food and keep horses and goats. They relocated to the misty wooded glens of the Nova Scotia highlands, ancestral Canadian home of the Gaels. When Cliff isn't writing or playing at a ceilidh, he is often in the woods working on his nature documentary: The Naturalist.

Cliff is the author of The Long Season (Amazon, 2018), The Wildwood Way (Llewellyn, 2015), Seasons of the Sacred Earth (Llewellyn, 2013), An Ogham Wood (Avalonia Esoterica Press, 2011) and The Lore of the Bard (Llewellyn, 2003). He has contributed to a number of publications, including The Faery Craft (Llewellyn, 2013) and The Faery Queens (Avalonia, 2013). Cliff has also been published in various magazines on Celtic history, paranormal phenomena and written for webzines about ecology, sustainable living and earth-based spirituality.

Reviews

[Spinneretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wildwood Way is Seruntine's second book about his life living close to nature. Like Seasons of the Sacred Earth, this takes us through the course of a year on his homestead, and into some of his experiences there. We get to see the cleverness of ravens, the art of bushcraft, and some of the more numinous encounters the author has experienced.
Interspersed with the wisdom of experience, Seruntine gives some tips for getting out into nature, even as he illustrates them with anecdotal stories.

It's an entertaining book, filled with folklore and wildcraft ways, and will be particularly enjoyed by those who like to read the autobiographical nature books out there. Armchair environmentalists and nature lovers alike will appreciate his perspective, and regenerative land healers will enjoy seeing the way he works with nature.
Well worth the read if you’re a nature lover.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on my first overnight trip to our cottage and it was just what I needed. I read this book on the shores of Georgian Bay surrounded by tall trees, white sand and glittering summer waves. I spent the entirety of this 5 day trip out in the wilderness and this novel was the perfect accompaniment. This book was read almost entirely outdoors with my feet buried in the sand. Cliff's writing was absolutely incredible and his messages spoke to me in so many ways. I have so much respect for the author and his outlook on life. I can't wait to recommend this to more people, he is truly an inspirational person and writer.

[Maranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a full review on my blog. Check it out to learn my thoughts!

https://whiteroseofavalon.life/2023/0...

[MelanieLotSeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Cliff Seruntine’s book was a bit like sitting at the feet of a modern-day Johnny Appleseed. Not many people have the courage to live this close to the land, but Cliff and his family all have what it takes to do so.

This book is a celebration of connection to the land and the spiritual connection we as humans have to it. Cliff skillfully crafts stories for each season, drawing the reader in. He doesn’t just tell us what it’s like from his perspective- he shares knowledge like a mentor and gifts the reader with a few of the tools he himself has used along the way.

Survival tips and anecdotes of naturalist know-how are Interwoven with beautiful reflections on our right place in the world as humans, ideas about being a good life partner and parent, and some good ol’ “big fish” stories.

There aren’t a lot of books like this out there, and this one touched me deep in my heart. You can take a girl out of the Adirondacks, but you can’t take the Adirondacks out of the girl. I’m glad to have a wild place at the center of me, and Cliff’s book felt at times like we were kindred spirits nodding to one another.

[Lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Netgalley for a review:

Once in a great while, you run across a book that touches you on a deeply personal level, it is an awesome feeling, and this book did it. I could spend this review talking about how nature is a spiritual thing for me, and how this book perfectly touches on both the spiritual aspect of nature and the survivalist aspect of nature. But what I shall do instead is talk about how this book just does exactly what it sets out do do perfectly...and I do not say that lightly! I have read countless books on naturalism, shamanism, nature spiritualism, and wildlife survival, and I have never seen one that just nailed it. Bravo on that!

It is not very often that I finish reading a nonfiction book and find myself wanting more; more stories, more teaching! It treats the reader like a friend at a campfire and a student of nature.

I recommend this book, if you do not mind a bit of mysticism and shamanism mixed in with your naturalism and survivalism, you will probably really enjoy reading it!