Woman in the Wilderness: My Story of Love, Survival and Self-Discovery

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I had the impression that she was studying our sounds, habits and patterns, as if she was some kind of weka anthropologist studying human-ape behaviour The author should be commended for writing a memoir in her second language English; however, her detailed descriptions of storms and slaughtering animals became tedious to read. Whilst the author portrays her lifestyle of living peacefully in the wilderness as practical and feasible, there is very little mention of the struggles that accompany this lifestyle outside the obvious issues of the weather and food supply. Unfortunately, the author makes no mention of the emotional challenges of living this way and the pressure on her relationship from living solely with her partner. Her rationale for living this way based on the benefits of being present and having freedom are logical, however her aim to develop the skills “to survive the apocalypse” by following his lifestyle are absurd. De cover is precies zoals Miriam op jacht ging. Ze leefden voornamelijk van de dieren, die toch maar gedood worden zonder ze op te eten, omdat Nieuw-Zeeland de dieren van vroeger zonder menselijke inbreng terug willen. The timeless beauty is just astonishing,’ I said shyly. ‘I want to try living without any barrier between the naked earth and myself. Cooking on fires, drinking pure water, sleeping on the ground . . . The wilderness might be able to teach us something, if we have time to listen.’ (c) I could see how I interpreted, judged and analysed my own thoughts, thereby restricting my own mind. I realised that these social rules were made in the past, and had nothing to do with the ever-changing present.

Yes, it’s actually as though we have no future. Just the great timeless void, an infinite mist.’ (c)any action derived from guilt usually just creates more confusion and distortion. It never solves conflict Peter turned round and put my arms over his shoulders. ‘Now it’s just us,’ he said, embracing me. I took a deep breath. ‘I feel like we have finally come home.’ Peter nodded. ‘This is the world we were all born into.’ I’d expected Miriam to look bedraggled, maybe with a couple of teeth missing, but she’s immaculate and smiling broadly, her teeth shiny white (she usually cleans them with ash); no dandruff, legs shaven, she smells of campfire. She is powerfully built; almost the double of Sarah Connor from The Terminator. A Dutch Sarah Connor – she was born in Holland. Her husband, Peter, proudly tells me she could beat most men in a fight: “Miriam is the hunter and I’m the cook. She’s much stronger than me. Women are better shots,” he says. “And they’re more careful,” adds Miriam. “They are less driven by trophy hunting. They have less of a need to prove themselves.” I sat in the sun for a horrible, stinky half-hour to To top it all off, I found it very hypocritical to keep looking down on modern comforts yet keep enjoying them too and being in an "idea of wilderness" where she hunts and roughs it out like cave men.

It was as if heaven had pulled away from the earth and created a space in which everything was still, serene and complete. (c) She thinks the key to a good relationship is a desire for self-knowledge: “If he says something and I see it as an insult, then I think, ‘Ah, why do I see that as an insult?’ I use it as a reflective method to find out about myself.” “We refuse to fight,” adds Peter. When he annoys her, says Miriam, “I pretend not to listen.” Doesn’t living in these physical circumstances force dependence? “We call it independent inter-dependence,” explains Peter. “Sometimes under extreme stress we do get a bit snappy…” (for example, when they both nearly drowned in some New Zealand rapids). Miriam completes the thought: “… so you become more aware of how external factors affect your mood.” The book hints that theirs is an open relationship but I’m not sure how that can make much difference given they never meet anyone. Working your life away for money or status, fighting your way up the social ladder, buying more things that you don’t really need . . . All of that.’ Both Miriam and Peter justify their lifestyle by contrasting it to city life, which in their eyes is a “self-imposed prison”. For people that value freedom like them, a conventional life with a job in a city is “imprisoning with its blinding, monotonous routine”. According to Peter, the predictability from living in a city “creates a sense of comfort, which in turn created a resistance to stepping into the unknown”. He adds “it is difficult for a mind that has evolved in human civilisation to reconnect with nature”. Miriam also makes compelling arguments for their lifestyle, for instance, “a lot of people work for years to save their money for later, but by the time they have enough to do something different they don’t have the courage for it, then it is too late” says Miriam. A timeless land protected by ancient rhythms, where humanity is obsolete and control pointless. A land in which the forest is a guardian and fire our closest friend, the wind a bringer of change and the sun our salvation.The moment that I walked through the door of responsibility I found myself in the room of obligation We walked to the rhythm of the rolling waves. On our left were endless dunes; on our right the infinite ocean. Our surroundings didn’t change for days on end, yet we were amid the most ancient movement of the earth: the eternal flow of the tides, coming and going with the rhythm of the moon. The wind seemed to drive the salty mist on ahead of us. We could never reach it, yet we were always in it. Nothing ever stopped the sea or the waves, the wind or clouds or beach. None of it had stopped since the beginning of time. It kept moving, and it kept us moving. (c) Miriam and Peter have ample time to reflect on existential issues such as the meaning of life and death, nature of relationships, fear, loneliness and uncertainty. And, of course, how the biodiversity of the natural world informs human existence. I quite enjoyed reading their reflections and ruminations simply because they resonated with me. Peter is deep and mystical (like David Attenborough?) and has the capacity to express himself. His take on life flows in a lyrical fashion. Each time, Miriam is blown away and rushes to capture his every word. I'm not sure if I'm skeptical or envious or busy rolling my eyes or getting cringey or fangirling or... Well, I feel transformed,’ I said. ‘I feel super energetic! Because of the long sleeps, or maybe the power of the mountains—who knows? Perhaps all nature can do is give energy, so that the mind can find a way to transform itself.’