Prologue
Chapter One: Gone
Chapter Two: Grief
Chapter Three: Pond
Chapter Four: Autumn
Chapter Five: Medium
Chapter Six: Early Me
Chapter Seven: Circle
Chapter Eight: Caledonia
Chapter Nine: Wilding
Chapter Ten: Beavers
Chapter Eleven: Levels
Chapter Twelve: Bustards
Chapter Thirteen: Anniversary
Chapter Fourteen: Healing
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
References
Permissions
Index
Struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter, Ben Goldsmith finds solace in nature by immersing himself in plans to rewild his Somerset farm.
Ben Goldsmith is a British environmentalist and
financier. Ben is a leading light in the rewilding movement in
Britain and Europe, as well as a pioneer of green investment. Ben
and his wife are rewilding their farm in Somerset, and Ben has
helped to establish a number of environmental initiatives,
including the Environmental Funders’ Network, the Conservative
Environment Network, Rewilding Britain, Beaver Trust, and the
Conservation Collective, a global network of locally focused
environmental foundations.
Ben was a Director at DEFRA for five years, successfully advocating
for a series of ground-breaking environmental restoration policies
during his tenure, including the new Environmental Land Management
scheme, the Nature for Climate Fund and the Species Reintroductions
task force.
The Iris Project was established by Ben Goldsmith and Kate
Rothschild in partnership with the Global Greengrants Fund in
loving memory of their daughter, Iris Goldsmith, a young
environmentalist who loved the natural world.
@bengoldsmith
From the deepest sorrow, the highest hope. Intensely readable,
poetic, truthful, wise and wonderful, this will live with me for a
very long time.
*Stephen Fry*
An event of unimaginable trauma is transformed into a message of
beauty and optimism through Ben’s passion for nature, which acts as
his nurse, teacher and redeemer.
*Joanna Lumley*
Stunningly beautiful, immensely sad, immensely uplifting, this is a
book of grief and joy and wonder and renewal.
*George Monbiot*
An extraordinarily powerful and moving journey through the darkest
of griefs to the enduring love, hope and renewal of the natural
world. A book of universal wisdom.
*Benedict Cumberbatch*
A brilliant new book… heartbreaking.
*David Walliams*
Beautiful and deeply moving, this will resonate with and inspire so
many people.
*Isabella Tree*
Extraordinary.
*The Daily Mail*
Goldsmith has written an extraordinary book, God is an Octopus,
about his journey through grief and his exploration of the
afterlife.
*The Sunday Times*
Ben chronicles the unfathomable tragedy of his daughter’s death
with the profound love and compassion of a bereft parent.
*Richard E. Grant*
An ambitious blend of memoir, nature diary and search for the
meaning of life, the universe and everything ... [God is an
Octopus] powerfully communicates the capacity of nature to
rebound.
*The Times*
Some of the finest writing about nature you will find anywhere.
*The Daily Mail*
[Ben] does a quite astonishing job… finding incredible meaning in
Iris’s short life and the connection with nature he experienced
after her sudden death.
*The Telegraph*
This book is as beautiful as it is painful to read ... The
emotional depth of God is an Octopus makes it a deeply moving and
thought-provoking read.
*The London Standard, Greatest reads of 2024*
A compelling journey from the very heart of loss to the sanctuary
and hope that only the natural world provides – emotive, raw and
captivating.
*Benedict Macdonald, Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Global
Conservation*
A heartbreaking yet ultimately inspiring memoir of the personal
spiritual odyssey.
*The Daily Mail*
A tribute not just to a lost child but also to nature’s
regenerative power.
*The Observer*
A meandering pathway through the thickets of grief ... this is a
devastating book, unflinching, but written with lyricism.
*The Daily Telegraph*
Simply the most powerful and profound words I’ve ever read on
grief... I clung to every sentence like a limpet hoping that time
would slow down so I could digest and remember every word.
*Georgia Toffolo*
Remarkable memoir… This book will bring comfort and hope to anyone
experiencing grief.
*The Guardian*
A heartbreaking book, but also an uplifting book which solaces the
heart.
*Tom Stoppard*
[A] moving account of how reconnecting with nature helped
[Goldsmith] rebuild a capacity for joy.
*The Guardian, Saturday magazine*
Poignant and very moving … a compelling piece of writing.
*BBC Countryfile*
[Goldsmith’s] personal experiences and thoughts feel vividly real
to the reader ... An extraordinarily powerful, optimistic and wise
read.
*House & Garden*
[An] engaging book, part memoir, part ecological tract
*Country & Town House*
In this very moving memoir, the leading rewilder and green investor
bares his soul to let us into the darkest moments of his most
private grief … His themes of loss, love and recovery are
universal, the story beautifully told.
*BBC Countryfile*
A very moving book … [It] tore at my heart, as it will yours, but
it’ll also make you feel better and more hopeful.
*Bird Watching*
[A] haunting meditation on grief and nature.
*The Times*
This beautiful book is an unflinching account of grief, with love
and hope at its heart.
*The Daily Mail*
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