Your Wild and Precious Life cover art

Your Wild and Precious Life

On Grief, Hope and Rebellion

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Your Wild and Precious Life

By: Liz Jensen
Narrated by: Fenella Fudge
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About this listen

My son's death will never make sense to me. But it has taught me that it's possible to find meaning, collectively and individually, in the loss of what we love. And in finding them, transform. Resilience is a seed that we all bear inside us. It germinates in emergencies. It sets down roots in astonishing and unexpected ways. And if we notice it, and tend to it, it blooms.

Liz Jensen's son, a zoologist, conservationist and ecological activist, was twenty-five when he collapsed and died unexpectedly. She fell apart. As she grieved, forest fires raged, coral reefs deteriorated, CO2 emissions rose and fossil fuels burned.

Your Wild and Precious Life is the story of how a mother rebuilt herself, reoriented her life and rediscovered the enchantment of the living world. Set against the backdrop of climate and ecological catastrophe, it's an argument for agency, legacy and the wild possibility of hope after devastation.

©2024 Liz Jensen (P)2024 Canongate Books
Grief & Loss Personal Development

Critic Reviews

'A clear-eyed, passionate and beautifully written account of love and loss. It is no small measure of Jensen's talent that a book about such a terrible and sudden event is heart-breaking yet...uplifting - even humorous at times: and ultimately, it is a call to action over the most pressing global issue that confronts human survival as we know it.' (LOUISE DOUGHTY, author of APPLE TREE YARD)

'A deeply moving, powerful, resonant book about the enormity of love and grief, and what it is to be alive yet mortal... Her meditation on "the fierce life in grief" is beautiful.' (RACHEL CLARKE, author of YOUR LIFE IN MY HANDS, DEAR LIFE and BREATHTAKING)

'Jensen's world, in the aftermath of her son's death, is full of magical insight and spiritual growth. Her narrative is far from tragic; it is marvellous and wondrously strange. A masterpiece for our troubled times.' (MONIQUE ROFFEY, Costa-winning author of THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH)

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Liz’s deep vulnerability and love for her son was so touching and healing. Highly recommended.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.