Sharpham retreat leader Rupert Marques has written a thrilling wilderness chapter in a new book out this month.
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Rupert, who leads retreats in Sharpham Woodland, in Sharpham House and at The Barn, wrote about how he deliberately put himself in a dangerous landscape - with animals that could eat him - so that he could feel how it was to be fully aware.
Rupert is familiar to participants on Sharpham retreats for his nature connection leadership and practices and many Sharpham retreatants will enjoy his section of the book Wilder Journeys: True Stories of Nature, Adventure and Connection.
The book has been compiled by environmental writer Laurie King and bestselling author Miriam Lancewood (Woman in the Wilderness) and features stories and poems from adventurers, nature lovers and nomads.
Rupert's chapter Belonging sits alongside contributions from:
- Explorer Belinda Kirk, who has written the foreword
- Angela Maxwell, the woman who walked 20,000 miles around the world
- BBC presenter and cameraman Hamza Yassin
- Poets Lemn Sissay and Fatimah Asghar
Nature broadcaster Ben Fogle said of the book: "A life-changing and inspiring collection. After reading it, many will not be able to resist the call of the wild".
View Rupert's video interview here:
In an extract from his chapter, Rupert describes being approached, then charged by a bull elephant in Zambeza National Park:
When he got too close I found my body, of its own accord, just started to back away, facing him as I retreated. He continued to approach and I turned around and picked up my pace - and so did he. I began to run, and then I heard this tremendous trumpeting and crushing of vegetation - he was charging me, flattening everything before him. At this point something in me shifted and now I was really running, and for a few moments experienced a sensation I had never previous, nor since, encountered: the unique and exhilarating experience of running for my life.
Wilder Journeys is published by Watkins Publishing and is officially launched on March 14.
Buy the book here
Photo by Craig Manners on Unsplash
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