Earthly Bodies

Environmentalist and educator Vanessa Chakour uses our unique connection to the animal world to reveal new ways to get the most from our inner life

What can we learn about sustaining love from the behavior of seahorses? How can the habits of jaguars help us channel our creativity? What guidance do the hunting patters of red-tailed hawks offer us about deepening our insight?

In Earthly Bodies, Vanessa Chakour shares pivotal encounters with creatures that reconnected her to the rhythms and demands of the primal, showing how to effectively use and rely on the intelligence of gut instinct; the magnetic pull of attraction; the body’s mandate for restorative rest; and the sacred bonds of love. Like wolves, foxes, bears, and our other wild kin, our earthly human bodies can bring us pleasure, love, wonder, healing, and connection—yet we often cut ourselves off from identifying with wild animals out of fear, ignorance, or disgust. 

Chakour reframes the notion that animal instincts are to be corrected or corralled, and honors how these parts of us guide us to meet our most basic needs—hunger, desire, anger, and other emotions we are taught to short-circuit—and open us up to deeper self-actualization and a stronger connection to the wisdom of the animal kingdom.