Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

The full title of ENCHANTMENT includes the subtext: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age, which is actually a pretty good description of the book. Part reminiscence, part observation, and part her own personal life philosophy, this is British author Katherine May's attempt to make sense of our hectic lives in an ever-changing and rushed world full of distractions.

Praise from author Anne Lamott: "I love Katherine May's new book, ENCHANTMENT. She is so smart, tender hearted, thoughtful. It's actually enchanting, so wise and lyrical, down to earth and mystical, personal and universal. It's a beautiful offering of light, truth and charm in these strange, dark times."

Here we all are, May argues, in a society full of political divisions. Our show more days revolve around endless to-do lists. We struggle to keep up with rapidly changing technology and terminology that increasingly fracture our already reduced attention spans. On top of that, the worldwide COVID pandemic has permanently altered some of our behaviors. Some no longer possess the concentration needed to read or stay with favorite activities and hobbies. Many of us have built lives focused on staying at home which isolates us and keeps us from participating in more communal endeavors. The result -- we are more lonely.

May argues that what could help us all is something we are missing -- wonder -- defined as a "feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful remarkable, or unfamiliar." A feeling that is harder to find once we come adults with responsibilities. In response, the author is actively employing intention to recapture some of the spontaneous wonder she remembers experiencing so often as a child. The joy of swimming with abandon in the open sea. Exploring the inner workings of a bee hive. Tasting water from an ancient well. Climbing a hill and discovering a hidden tower.

For me, there are two great strengths to ENCHANTMENT. The first are May's rich insights into how most of us move through our daily lives and the soul-enriching experiences we may be unintentionally sacrificing. The second strength is the poetic feel to May's prose. Though she writes simply and with clarity, her use of language is rich and distinctive. She actually convinced me to consider re-ordering my own priorities.

This book is quite different from books I generally gravitate towards and turned out to be a refreshing change. I recommend ENCHANTMENT, which is the first book I've read by May. But I'm certainly intrigued to explore more of her offerings. I particularly want to learn more about her experience receiving a mid-life diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

More about New York Times bestselling author Katherine May, who aside from writing books and speaking engagements, offers multiple seasons of her own podcast, HOW WE LIVE NOW. show less

The full title of ENCHANTMENT includes the subtext: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age, which is actually a pretty good description of the book. Part reminiscence, part observation, and part her own personal life philosophy, this is British author Katherine May's attempt to make sense of our hectic lives in an ever-changing and rushed world full of distractions.

Praise from author Anne Lamott: "I love Katherine May's new book, ENCHANTMENT. She is so smart, tender hearted, thoughtful. It's actually enchanting, so wise and lyrical, down to earth and mystical, personal and universal. It's a beautiful offering of light, truth and charm in these strange, dark times."

Here we all are, May argues, in a society full of political divisions. Our show more days revolve around endless to-do lists. We struggle to keep up with rapidly changing technology and terminology that increasingly fracture our already reduced attention spans. On top of that, the worldwide COVID pandemic has permanently altered some of our behaviors. Some no longer possess the concentration needed to read or stay with favorite activities and hobbies. Many of us have built lives focused on staying at home which isolates us and keeps us from participating in more communal endeavors. The result -- we are more lonely.

May argues that what could help us all is something we are missing -- wonder -- defined as a "feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful remarkable, or unfamiliar." A feeling that is harder to find once we come adults with responsibilities. In response, the author is actively employing intention to recapture some of the spontaneous wonder she remembers experiencing so often as a child. The joy of swimming with abandon in the open sea. Exploring the inner workings of a bee hive. Tasting water from an ancient well. Climbing a hill and discovering a hidden tower.

For me, there are two great strengths to ENCHANTMENT. The first are May's rich insights into how most of us move through our daily lives and the soul-enriching experiences we may be unintentionally sacrificing. The second strength is the poetic feel to May's prose. Though she writes simply and with clarity, her use of language is rich and distinctive. She actually convinced me to consider re-ordering my own priorities.

This book is quite different from books I generally gravitate towards and turned out to be a refreshing change. I recommend ENCHANTMENT, which is the first book I've read by May. But I'm certainly intrigued to explore more of her offerings. I particularly want to learn more about her experience receiving a mid-life diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

More about New York Times bestselling author Katherine May, who aside from writing books and speaking engagements, offers multiple seasons of her own podcast, HOW WE LIVE NOW. show less

This is a personal, but widely applicable account of coming out of the funk of the last few years to re-discover and re-claim the beauty and enchantment all around us. Thoughtful essays focus on the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air, with a couple essays within each that could stand alone or could be read straight through - making perfect sense either way. Her goal in each of them is to get us back in touch with the most basic building blocks of life, even as they are part of our modern existence, and to see them through the lens of wonder. This is a beautiful antidote to all that the pandemic altered and a path forward with hope. So much food for thought to return to again and again.

Katherine May is a kindred spirit. 🤍 I have long described my outlook on life as "trying to find the extraordinary in the ordinary" and that's what May is doing in this book. It's lovely. Also the chapter on "Deep Play" made me cry because I am currently fighting my way back and it hurts but it's so necessary.

Like her previous book, this took me on an unexpected and thoughtful voyage that I completely enjoyed. I started out feeling like a random collection of thoughts and observations but all the pieces connected in ways that were intriguing. Although my pandemic experience didn't have the same issues, I completely connected with her experience of how we come out of this and reconnect with each other and the world. A really great read.

May was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome in middle age, which she writes about in an earlier volume (I will get to next week), and this means her perspectives are slightly different, seeing through different lenses a bit. She shares her vulnerabilities, and her curiosity. Her struggles and her discoveries in this wonderful book.

I'd have probably bought it for the beautiful cover had I not already known her work. Yes, occasionally I have...

It’s possible that there’s some irony in how hard it was for me to get through this book. I most often listen to audiobooks while out for walks with my dog and usually have no difficulty keeping up, but I had to relisten to certain chapters again and even looking through the ebook there’s much I don’t remember here. A lot of it does seem to do with focus and attention and the wonder she’s searching for, but for some reason or other it wasn’t working for me. It’s a bit of a disappointment considering how much I love this author, so I think I’ll just have to revisit it down the road and hope to be in a better headspace to take it all in properly.