Liturgies of the Wild

A profound exploration of myth, storytelling and faith, and an urgent invitation to allow the oldest stories – and the Greatest Story – to reshape our own.

‘A rosary of soaring myth, gripping narrative and deep wisdom … one of the master storytellers of our time’ – Dr Gabor Maté, bestselling author of The Myth of Normal

There’s an old Irish belief that if you aren’t wrapped in a cloak of story, you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You remain adolescent at just the moment a culture worth its salt requires you to become a real, grown human being.

In Liturgies of the Wild, acclaimed mythographer, storyteller and Christian thinker Martin Shaw argues that we live in a myth-impoverished age, cut off from the deep wells of story and meaning that once prepared us for life’s challenges.

Drawing on the 'ancient technologies' of myths and initiatory rites, Shaw invites readers to rediscover the ancient stories that shape the human soul – and to encounter Christ as the ultimate, transforming story providing a road to wholeness, maturity and connection, as he did. Within these pages, Shaw:

• Teaches us to read a myth the way it wants to be read;
• Provides vivid retellings of tales powerful enough to carry you through life’s travails;
• Shows you how to gather and reshape your own thrown-away stories.

Most vividly, Shaw shares how these ancient technologies led him – unexpectedly – to Christ, who he terms 'the True Myth,' by way of a thirty-year journey and a 101-night vigil in a Dartmoor forest.

Blending nimble storytelling in the tradition of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien with scholarly depth, Liturgies of the Wild provides a transformative journey into story, spirit and self-discovery.

About the Author

Dr Martin Shaw is a writer, mythographer and Christian thinker who has authored seventeen books. He founded the Oral Tradition and Mythic Life courses at Stanford University and is director of the Westcountry School of Myth in the UK. For twenty years Shaw has been a wilderness rites of passage guide, working with at-risk youth, those who are unwell, returning veterans, as well as women and men seeking a deeper life.