{"product_id":"9781643755779","title":"Forager","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA moving, heartbreaking, and lyrical true story of the author’s escape from an apocalyptic cult—and the survival skills that led to her freedom. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e As a child, Michelle Dowd grew up on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest. She was born into an ultra-religious cult, the Field, started in the 1930s by her grandfather, who convinced generations of young male followers that he would live five hundred years and ascend to the heavens when doomsday came. \u003ci\u003eComfort and care are sins\u003c\/i\u003e, Michelle is told\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e As a result, she was forced to learn the skills necessary to battle hunger, thirst, and cold; she learns to trust animals more than humans; and most importantly, she learns how to survive in the natural world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e At the Field, a young Michelle lives a life of abuse, poverty, and isolation as she obeys her family’s rigorous religious and patriarchal rules. But as Michelle gets older, she realizes she has the strength to break free. \u003ci\u003eFocus on what will sustain you\u003c\/i\u003e, she tells herself\u003ci\u003e. Use everything. Waste nothing. Get to know the intricacies of the land, like the intricacies of your body. \u003c\/i\u003eAnd so she does.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Using stories of individual edible plants and their uses to anchor each chapter, \u003ci\u003eForager\u003c\/i\u003e is both a searing coming-of-age story and a meditation on the ways in which understanding nature can lead to freedom, even joy.\u003cbr\u003e   \u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Michelle Dowd","offers":[{"title":"Algonquin Books |  Paperback \/ softback  |  2024-02-27","offer_id":45191622656255,"sku":"9781643755779","price":25.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_38adcb27-2125-41b9-9e96-212b731ed434.jpg?v=1713032328","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781643755779","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}