The Zen of the Wild [Paperback]

From the author ofThe Zen of ClimbingandThe Craft of Bouldering, a manifesto for a new approach to connecting meaningfully with the wildness around and within us.

In recent years, we have woken up to the crucial role that nature plays in our well-being. As we live increasingly urbanized lives, we seek out wilderness and green space in times of hardship and turmoil, or simply for our leisure. 

Weaving together ideas from spirituality, neuroscience, religious philosophy and art history, Francis Sanzaro argues that we obscure opportunities for real connections through our attachments, our anxieties, and simply through our egos. We rarely observe nature without subconsciously filtering out the parts that don't fit into our perfect snapshot.

To foster a genuine connection with the natural world, and to better protect it, we must embrace its contradictions as well as the surface beauty. Through deeper engagement with our environment, we can discover the wild within ourselves, too.

GBFrancis Sanzaro (Ph.D.) is a climber, academic, speaker, and the author of books on philosophy, climbing, athletic theory and comparative religion. His essays, poetry and fiction have appeared inThe New York Times, Outside, Huffington Post, Climbing, Adventure Journal, The Baltimore Post Examiner, Continental Philosophy Review, Vol. 1 BrooklynandRock and Ice, among a dozen others. His books includeThe Zen of Climbing; The Craft of Bouldering;andSociety Elsewhere: Why the Gravest Threat to Humanity Will Come From Within. He appeared at TEDx Ascend in Colorado speaking on approaches to risk and our relationship with the natural world.

Nominated for the 2026 Reading the West Book Awards

I love the idea of this book because Im a sucker for philosophy. This book has the descriptions of a poet. Based on the author's personal, relatable experience in the Rocky Mountain West. It is not a quick read, but wortl%