Woman in the Wilderness

My Story of Love, Survival and Self-Discovery

By: Miriam Lancewood

Narrated by: Lucy Paterson

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

'My life is free, random and spontaneous. This in itself creates enormous energy and clarity in body and mind.' (Miriam Lancewood).

Miriam Lancewood is a young Dutch woman living a primitive, nomadic life in the heart of the mountains with her New Zealand husband. She lives simply in a tent or hut and survives by hunting wild animals, foraging edible plants and using minimal supplies. For the last six years she has lived this way, through all seasons, often cold, hungry and isolated in the bush. She loves her life and feels free, connected to the land and happy.

This book tells her story, including the very practical aspects of such a life: her difficulties learning to hunt with a bow and arrow, struggles to create a warm environment in which to live, attempts to cross raging rivers safely and find ways through the rugged mountains and dense bush. This is interwoven with her adjustment to a very slow pace of life, her relationship with her much older husband, her interactions with the few other people they encounter, and her growing awareness of a strong spiritual connection to the natural world.

©2017 Miriam Lancewood (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

An incredible inspiration

This is not only a book about an adventure in the wilderness, it is a book about life itself. About challenges both physically, mentally and emotionally. About letting go and holding on. Excepting what is and being in the present moment. It is a story about true love between two human beings without being a love story. Pure, confronting and inspiring.

A simple and delicate tale of tremendous courage

One of those ones that stays with you. We need more women like miriam, i am inspired and challenged. Thank you

Inspiring and thought-provoking

What an amazing story...I read / listen a lot but I particularly enjoyed this book. Beautifully written and Miriam illustrates the beauty and power of nature - and of the human spirit - in a wonderful way. For anyone who loves nature, and / or feels that modern life is just a soulless treadmill, this is essential reading. The book contains, in my opinion, much for humans to learn about how to live. I didn’t want this book to end!

What a wonderful journey

Oh how I loved this audio book, such an adventure. vividly described and so uplifting. What a brave and courageous couple they are. I kept thinking something awful or bad was going to happen to them but thankfully nothing like that ever happened which makes a change from most books. The narrator was excellent and captured all the accents so well that it could have been Miriam reading it herself...I hope she has written another book about their next journey?

Wildly inspiring

This book takes you on an amazing and inspiring journey of courage, adventure and love! It’s nature writing at its best but also thought provoking and about relationships. I loved it.

It pains me not to write a glowing review

It pains me not to write a glowing review for this book because of my huge admiration for Miriam and her way of life. I truly hope to spend some time living 'in the wilderness' myself someday...
I hope she doesn't give up and writes more - I may still read her next one. With that in mind:

Very large parts of this book are descriptions of natural scenery that Miriam walks past in the course of her life 'in the wilderness'. The problem is that this prose is very repetitive and has a very strange and awkward overuse of the adjectives. The simplicity of her prose and descriptions compliments a message about simple pleasures of her natural lifestyle. However, I preferred her writing hinting at the complexity and richness of life regardless of lifestyle circumstances... but sadly these moments were few and far between and, in my opinion, were watered down not amplified by the amount of detailed but basic descriptive prose which read like quite mundane journal entries.

I would still recommend reading this book to someone already interested in the topic or Miriam, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people.

My imagination is alive again

Thank you so much for showing me that there is another way to experience this world. I’m filled with sparkling excitement at what might unfold in my life once more

A great listen

Loved it! Really fascinating account of living freely in nature. Beautifully descriptive and very well read

A really enjoyable story.

It's always nice to read or listen to a book that can make you feel you in the place the author is describing. For me I thouroughly enjoyed this book and was sorry when it finished. Well written and really well narrated.

loved every minute

very well presented book and well read. captivating adventure that'll make you want to give everything up and move to the wild. in fact...... see ya off I go

Great narrator & great story

Really enjoyed - really liked the narrator - audible give her promotion- highly recommended the book - nice interesting gentle read

Inspiring story

Brings out a longing to spend more time in nature, get rid of stuff I don't really need and focus on what's really important, now!