Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature - Paperback

by Vanessa Chakour (Author)

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 nature's 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 animals--from wolves to sea lions--exploring 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.

Vanessa's 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 body's mandate for restorative rest; and of the sacred bonds of love. We often cut ourselves off from identifying with wild animals--like wolves, foxes, bats and bears, and other animal relatives--out 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 animal's return home to their natural habitat, and--in our case--to 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.

Author Biography

Vanessa Chakour is an author, naturalist, and former pro-boxer that fosters connection between inner and outer wilds through writing, herbalism, martial arts, and land stewardship. With over a decade of experience, she has facilitated courses and retreats in partnership with wildlife organizations like the Wolf Conservation Center and the Jaguar Rescue Center, and is a Project Coyote Ambassador. Vanessa is the author of Awakening Artemis a memoir told through the lens of twenty-four medicinal plants, and Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature that delves into the parallels between human struggles and the experiences of our wild neighbors, offering insights on self-discovery and coexistence. She lives in Massachusetts where she coaches boxing, stewards a forest sanctuary and is part of United Plant Savers' Botanical Sanctuary Network.