Courting the Wild Twin
Martin Shaw is a renowned mythologist and professional storyteller who spends copious amounts of time in the wilderness listening and learning. Courting the Wild Twin is based on the premise that we are all born with a curious and untamed twin who is “thrown out of the window” at birth, taking much of our liveliness with them. In this slim volume, Shaw encourages us to find our hitherto unknown sibling – the wild, uncivilised but vivacious and very much alive alter ego and bring them back into ourselves.
Using the power of tales, especially the fairy kind, Shaw enables us to transform and heal our disconnectedness from the wild, both within and without. Beautifully written in his own unique prose-like style, we are guided through the realms of two enchanting, sad and perfect tales, Lindworm and Tatterhood. Each of these is uniquely qualified to tear and rip away the urban layers of a life lived in sterile banality, revealing that raw wildness underneath – our true, original selves; part of rather than separate from the rest of the world. Shaw believes this is the key way we can save the earth from destruction by our own hands. He challenges us to wake up.
The depth and sheer wonder of this book is limitless, the magic Shaw creates, is engulfing. The message is sobering and honest. The book will reach the parts of you that you didn’t know you had and take you into the long forgotten deepest forests of your soul. It is a treasure.
Book Details: Martin Shaw. Courting the Wild Twin. Chelsea Green Publishing. ISBN: 978-1603589505
Review Details:Courting the Wild Twin was reviewed by Thea Prothero for Indie Shaman magazine and published in Issue 46.