Retreat: Adventures in Search of Silence, Solitude and Renewal

(Paperback)

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Retreat is a stunning personal journey through the many ways humans go on retreat - religious, spiritual and secular - both in today's world and in our past Retreat takes us on a stunning journey through the many ways humans step back from daily life, both in today's world and in our past. 'A vivid personal quest...rich and almost eerily timely' William Fiennes From mindfulness and meditation to yoga breaks and spiritual bootcamps, stepping back from daily life remains a human obsession. In this endlessly enlightening book, Nat Segnit experiences retreats around the world as he investigates why we seek solitude, what we get out of it, and what is going on in our brains and bodies when we achieve it. Along the way, he meets yogic scholars, scientists, religious leaders, philosophers and artists, gaining fascinating - and often startling - insights. 'With a charming blend of sincerity and intellectual curiosity, Segnit leads us sure-footedly into the wilderness' Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment 'Open-minded, elegantly written and comprehensive' Daily Telegraph

Reviews

A rich and almost eerily timely book, Nat Segnit's exploration of the history and meaning of retreat maps copious research onto a vivid personal quest that reads at times like Eat Pray Love as written by David Foster Wallace -- William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese
We typically live tangled in our busy routines. Segnit takes us on a delightful expedition into the ancient personal quest to decamp, relinquish, discover -- David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University, author of Livewired
To read this marvellous book is to be absorbed in Segnit's personal search for retreat, illuminated by science, erudition and art, and reminded of the grand retreat of a book that speaks to one of the fundamentals of life -- Zia Haider Rahman, author of In the Light of What We Know
This lovely book is a retreat in itself - into history, psychology, religion, individuals and the almost universal human desire to escape everyone, even one's self, every now and again. It persuades us, with an excellent mix of charm and erudition, that going in can be the real adventure -- Louisa Young, author of You Left Early: a True Story of Love and Alcohol
With a charming blend of sincerity and intellectual curiosity, Segnit leads us sure-footedly into the wilderness ... moving, even inspiring * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Nat Segnit's investigations into the human impulse to withdraw took him to India, Greece, the US and the Arctic Circle, until unforeseen circumstances forced his own retreat, along with the rest of humanity. He has written for the New Yorker, Harper's, 1843 magazine and the TLS, and regularly writes and broadcasts for BBC Radio 4. Retreat is his second book.