A Human Love Story: Journeys to the Heart
By (Author) Matt Hopwood
Introduction by Clare Balding
Birlinn General
Birlinn Ltd
1st May 2018
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Folklore studies / Study of myth (mythology)
Self-help, personal development and practical advice
914.11048612
Paperback
192
Width 135mm, Height 195mm, Spine 20mm
373g
Matt Hopwood set off with just a small bag and a walking stick, no possessions and an open mind to walk many hundreds of miles the length and breadth of the country. He relied entirely on the generosity of strangers for shelter and asked people to tell him their transforming stories. They did. All of these deeply enthralling, profoundly honest stories weave a web of tenderness, connection, compassion and community.
For some people their love story will span decades and tell a tale of romantic love evolving through the passing years. Others' stories express eeting moments of connection, care, concern. Most love stories are marked by sadness and loss. Some stories are concerned with maternal and paternal love, others with a love of place, a visceral connection with spirit through landscape. Love stories also connect deeply with our identities, in how we belong and how we are welcomed in society. Each story is different. Each beautiful. Each valuable.
Matt Hopwood is a storyteller and a facilitator of sharing space. He is a graduate in Applied Anthropology from Goldsmiths University, a former teacher and worked alongside community projects in Kenya, Palestine and Israel. He admits to having struggled to feel or express any emotions at all until he reached his 30s and, having decided to tackle this, he has made it his lifes mission to build, grow and enhance connections between people through their simple and vulnerable, precious stories of love.