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  • The Way Home

  • Tales from a Life Without Technology
  • By: Mark Boyle
  • Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
  • Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (201 ratings)

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The Way Home cover art

The Way Home

By: Mark Boyle
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
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Publisher's Summary

It was 11:00 pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever.

No running water, no car, no electricity or any of the things it powers: the internet, phone, washing machine, radio, or light bulb. Just a wooden cabin, on a smallholding, by the edge of a stand of spruce. 

The Way Home is a modern-day Walden - an honest and lyrical account of a remarkable life lived in nature without modern technology. Mark Boyle, author of The Moneyless Man, explores the hard-won joys of building a home with his bare hands, learning to make fire, collecting water from the stream, foraging, and fishing. 

What he finds is an elemental life, one governed by the rhythms of the sun and seasons, where life and death dance in a primal landscape of blood, wood, muck, water, and fire - much the same life we have lived for most of our time on earth. Revisiting it brings a deep insight into what it means to be human at a time when the boundaries between man and machine are blurring.

©2019 Mark Boyle (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Way Home

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking and insightful

I knew when I picked this book up from my stepfather's coffee table nearly two years ago that I would enjoy it. All that time and half a world away, I have listened to it as I've fixed up the final few bits and pieces on my scrappy old van that is going to be my home for the foreseeable future as I seek out a simpler life of my own. I found it an inspiring book to listen to, yes, but also humble. Despite other people's reviews indicating otherwise, the author did not come across as self absorbed and clearly articulates his hypocrisy and the complicated balance of living the life he details. The narrator did a fantastic job also.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fourth time I’ve read this it’s amazing

I love this book, on the fourth listen and it’s fantastic. Love the narrator too, Great all round

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Tom
  • 08-05-2022

Great listen

A great easy listen with humour about the irony that exists in our modern lives. An extreme individual cause and desire to explore what it means to live; in his own definition.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thank you

Loved the insightful, honest, open reflections, thanks for sharing!
The accent was super calming to listen to.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A bit of sanity

In a world that is over-populated and too far removed from the real necessities of life this is a sobering reminder that simplicity is always better than complexity...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Profound

This is, without question, my absolute favourite book. This is a beautifully written, thought-provoking piece of work and has infinite reread value.

I recommend this book to everyone. The story is wholesome, fascinating and timeless. There are a few short gruesome scenes, but these provide a necessary realness and contrast to the story that I feel would have been ungenuine for Mark to remove or ammend.

Gerard Doyle (narrator) was the perfect choice. You won't be disappointed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

We should all read this!

IN a world with so much technology, it is hard to 'disconnect', and 'reconnect' to mother earth. So Marks story for his search for pure meaning to an otherwise seemingly pointless existence is an extraordinary story. It is quite simply a journal of his time doing this task, and highlighting all the things we take for granted. Whilst I congratulate him for his dedication and sharing his journey with us, I personally could not do this myself. I grow my own food, have solar panels, and endeavour to be a conscious consumer, and I think there is a balance for all of to try and live more lightly in this precious planet, we call 'home'. His theories are serious consideration for how we need to somehow get the balance back into our lives which give meaning to our existence, and protect our planet from destruction. Putin will see to that no doubt!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Fantastic. This is the last audiobook I'll ever listen to. I already live off grid but this has helped reassure me that I'm doing the right thing for me.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational

One of those rare books that comes along every now and again that I find truly inspirational. Do yourself, society and the planet a favour and have a listen.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • SD
  • 28-06-2022

Ruined for me by the choice of narrator

I think I really could have enjoyed this book but the narration has me struggling to get past the first half.
While the narrator matches the author in nationality, I feel that so much depth & lightness of expression in the story is lost in the dreary, almost monotone, narration.
Sorry to say I won’t be finishing this.

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