Burn

A Story of Fire, Woods and Healing

By: Ben Short

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Paperback | 16 February 2023 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
256 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
1.7 x 12.9 x 19.7

Paperback

$32.75

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'An extraordinary and powerful book, full of vitality. Every page celebrates the way traditional skills can shape who we are' Tristan Gooley

'Lyrical, moving and never self-pitying . . . a lovely book' The Times

Ben Short has a successful career in advertising, a flat in a trendy part of London, a flashy motorbike. But after years of suffering with anxiety, he's a wreck. A drastic change is needed.

For a time, he finds solace working with a forester, then as an apprentice to a Gypsy woodman, setting up home in a dilapidated wagon with just a rescue dog for company. However, it is not until he feels the call of the furnace, a glowing charcoal kiln in the Dorset woods, that he can truly re-forge his thoughts, put the years of suffering behind him, and start afresh by immersing himself in the old ways of woods and fire.

Exquisitely written and deeply honest, Burn is a hopeful story of transformation, a celebration of manual work and craft, and a love letter to the English countryside.

'Beautifully written . . . reading it leaves you feeling ruffled but alive' Mail on Sunday

Industry Reviews

Lyrical, moving and never self-pitying . . . a lovely book. - The Times

Short's story is as much about work as it is escape and landscape; he illuminates the value of doing rather than thinking. Beautifully written, Burn is melancholy and hopeful in equal measure. Like taking a forest ramble in changeable weather, reading it leaves you feeling ruffled but alive - Mail on Sunday

An extraordinary and powerful book, full of vitality. Every page celebrates the way traditional skills can shape who we are. - Tristan Gooley

An intriguing, touching and beautifully written book, about how it feels to be in a dark place spiritually, to move into the woods but enter an increasingly lighter place, to be practising the ancient skills of coppicing and charcoal burning, to love a dog.

In this candid memoir, [Ben] learns the benefits of living simply . . . above all, Ben discovers the joys of risking everything in the search for personal happiness. - The Countryman

A most excellent read. Destined to become a classic in its field, much like Walter Rose's memoir, The Village Carpenter

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