Enchantment by Katherine May

Book Review Feb 27, 2024

My review

1/5 stars

The blurb on this book intrigued me. I'm always looking for ways to encourage a more positive mindset in myself, and the description of this book seemed to lend itself to that.

What was on the pages didn't strike a chord with me unfortunately.

What I came for was tips to find magic in the everyday. While that was the undercurrent of what was written, it wasn't in the format I was expecting. I supposed that the book would be more about practical application than it was. The author provided a series of personal anecdotes and VERY subtly provided the link to a generic idea for how the natural world is an awe-inspiring thing.

In short, I found the writing chaotic and tenuous, with the messaging that she was aiming for completely missing the mark for me.

Book blurb

Our sense of enchantment is not only sparked by grand things. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention. The magic is of our own conjuring.

Feeling bone-tired, anxious and overwhelmed by the rolling news cycle and the pandemic age, Katherine May seeks to unravel the threads of a life wound too tightly. Could there be another way to live - one that feels more meaningful, more grounded in the places beneath our feet? One that would allow us to feel more connected, more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet?

Craving a different path, May explores the restorative properties of the natural world and begins to rekindle her sense of wonder. It is a journey that takes her from sacred wells to wild moors, from cradling seas to starfalls. Through deliberate attention and ritual, she finds nourishment and a more hopeful relationship to the world around her.

Enchantment is an invitation to each of us to experience life in all its sensual complexity and to find the beauty waiting for us there.