
The Way Home: Tales from a life without technology (Hardback)
Mark Boyle (author)Published: 04/04/2019

Can we truly unplug? Mark Boyle’s odyssey toward self-sufficiency began within the pages of the Guardian, his weekly column about gradually raising the drawbridge on modern life paving the way for his ultimate, total separation. From obvious sacrifices to the issues of simply disentangling from the 9-5 led body clocks that rule our internal existence, his journey offers the challenge of possibility.
It was 11pm 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.
In this honest and lyrical account of a remarkable life without modern technology, Mark Boyle explores the hard won joys of building a home with his bare hands, learning to make fire, collecting water from the spring, 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.
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
ISBN: 9781786076007
Number of pages: 288
Dimensions: 225 x 146 x 24 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A beautiful and thought-provoking story that will inspire you to live differently. Mark asks the most fundamental questions then sets out to live the answers.' - Lily Cole
'Don't buy my books: buy this instead, while there's still time for you to change. This one matters. Boyle is the real thing: vital, angry, and kind. And real things are terribly rare. You might think his ideas are dangerous, but in fact they represent the only possible safety.' - Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
'A revealing, humorous and deeply endearing witness statement on behalf of lovely, dirty reality.' - Jay Griffiths, author of Wild: An Elemental Journey
'Illustrates beautifully that giving up many of the things in life that we treat as indispensable may actually be less of a sacrifice than a liberation.' - Neil Ansell, author of Deep Country
'The Way Home paints a picture not only of how broken our culture has become, but of how to begin building a new one. It demands to be read - and then lived by.' - Paul Kingsnorth, author of The Wake and Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist
'In a world more connected than ever before we have never been so disconnected. By shaking off technologies of modern man and stepping back in time, Boyle shows the hardships and beauty of living with the seasons. A thought-provoking read which encourages the reader to appreciate many of the things we take for granted and question the way we live in the modern world.' - Megan Hine, author of Mind of a Survivor
You may also be interested in...

“An inspirational book that gives you plenty to think about...”
I found this an eye opening read. I’m sure a lot of us think we would be better off without technology & want to cut back on our social media use, but this is taking it to another level - not only social media,... More
“An interesting insight to an alternative lifestyle.”
Thanks to Oneworld for a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.
Many of us would be lost without heating, lighting, broadband, smart phone, laptop, gaming device, social media, food to hand, water on tap and...
More
“A personal and distinctive account of living without technology.”
I'm reviewing this book that I have recently read on a Kindle device while sitting here on a PC situated in a well lighted and heated comfortable environment with tabs open that enable me to access the World Wide... More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?