This was an interesting guide about going back to nature. A book that I'd go back to for reference on information and one I'd recommend.

I absolutely adored following Mo’s journey in this book. If ever there was any work to highlight so acutely the ferocity and wonder of nature’s cycles, and how we as a species have become so far removed from them, it is this.

For me, what made The Wilderness Cure so special was that it wasn’t simply a list of facts about what’s available depending on where you are on this island throughout the year.
We also got to see the unfiltered truth of what that looks like in reality in the 21st century through Mo’s diary-like writing. I followed her on every social platform I could immediately after completing this!

Mo Wilde spent a year living off whatever plants and other foods she could forage.
I mean wow!. In a society of convenience food culture the very thought would have most of us amazed. Mo's journey is a totally inspiring connection with nature.
A very well researched and written book giving much food for thought.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

I live in Scotland. I need to go and meet Mo. Loved the book, although it took me longer to read than most of my books. The need to search on the internet for plants, trees, fungi and herbs that I'd never heard, interrupted continuous reading. However, it's that kind of book.
Mo, you need to publish an accompanying manual that allows us all to follow your year in more detail.
I believe that I will start again this November and follow seasonally your progress in real time. I don't have the courage to jump 100% into the wilderness diet, but a supplement to normal activity would not go amiss.

A very interesting and well researched book- definitely something I would want to keep and look back on, especially with the food guides at the back with when foods are naturally available. I think the idea to forage and only eat what you can grow is fascinating and although not widely possible, it is something worth being aware of and to strive for.

Very well-researched and communicative, whilst also providing some coziness . It's a nice trip down the seasons and through the real nature. Well written. A really amazing book!

This memoir was fascinating and inspiring. It made me want to learn so much more about what I eat and where it comes from, to become more connected with my roots. Thank you for the ARC!

This book was not as I expected, in parts was interesting but not enough to keep me reading without breaking off to read other books in between.

I was looking for a book to help me with recognising and learning how to forage locally. A sort of beginners book.
I felt it was too much for that.
However, I certainly found it really interesting.
I love the way Mo is truly back to basics and is dedicated to that way of life.
It certainly has gave me food for thought.

In April 2022 I had my first experience of a led forage by Lisa Cutliffe which had me hooked, so followed this up with a Yorkshire costal forage. When I saw this book in Netgalley I was immediately attracted to it and by the authors desire to spend a year feeding herself with foraged food.
The book is divided into seasons, is part diary, musings, thoughts on foraging, seasonality, what to forage and recipes. The seasonality of food is part of our history and shapes our landscapes, which in these times seem to be limited to wild garlic in Spring, blackberry picking in September or scrumping apples.
The book is a joy and can be dipped into, used as a resource to inspire foraging and what to look out for. The courses I have been on and the tips in this book have led me to look more closely at the vegetation I pass through, as there is much more to eat than could be imagined.
I value the led foraging I have been on and this book is a fabulous resource to support these experiences.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC as always much appreciated. All views are my own

Wilde is a foraging teacher and has been for 15 years so she knows her stuff. Quite suddenly, and unprepared, she decides she’s going to live only on what she can forage for a year, starting on Black Friday, which appears to her so hideous and wasteful that she needs to go back to the land. She’s also doing it in Scotland, starting in late November, and has to make a complicated arrangement with herself about nuts as she’s not harvested them/had some nut flour go bad. Added issue: it’s the Covid lockdowns as she does her project which affects where she can go and who she can see: it’s interesting to see this working its way into the books I read now.

I’ve read a few of these sort of off-grid, back to the land books now and I have to say that Wilde is not nearly as annoying as the men whose books I’ve read. She happily acknowledges both swaps and gifts from neighbours and others in her network and the support of one of her two independent living housemates, who goes into the project with her (the other continues life as normal but does supply honeysuckle mead and other important drinks). Wilde starts the book with a history of how we’ve eaten in the past, explaining how foraging has been important through history, and she includes information on various plants and practices during the book, as well as pleas to look at climate change, respect nature and understand that plants can have an equal intelligence to animals (it’s all that joined up mushrooms and tree roots stuff again). So it’s not just a back to the earth story but it’s more than a polemic, and I think the two sides work well together. Her rules are a bit complicated (I never understood the egg swap business) and she gets very upset when she breaks them (once, when she’s just delivered her neighbour’s baby somewhat unexpectedly and someone gives her a slice of cake!). It was interesting to read about there being seasons for carbs as well as fruits and veg, something I’d not really thought about.

I liked the practical aspects of the book, though the spiritual aspects were integrated well and not too “woo” for me (she thanked both animals she was given and trees she harvested sap from for giving up their resources to her, and she made a distinction between animals culled for ecological purposes and those killed for sport which made sense). At the end of the project, she planted 365 trees, and there’s an appendix giving more information on how to get into foraging.

Blog review to come next week.

Calming but disturbing.
I started the Wilderness Cure thinking it would be a relaxing read, the thought of searching for wild food in forests and sea shores sounded peaceful. This certainly was not the case, the harsh facts and figures about climate change, the resources our body really needs to survive and the devastating effect of modern life on the environment were truly eye opening.
The basis for the story is Mo decides just to eat wild, foraged food for a year,she has vast knowledge of wild food and creative cooking skills. The first surprise was the seasonality of wild food, although some can be preserved, the summer is probably the hardest time. The need for fats was also an interesting fact, as was the use of carbohydrates such as potatoes which were traditionally were only available in two seasons. Analysing ancient tribes food needs, showed that people had to be nomadic, travelling to the coast at certain times to replenish stock.
Towards the end of the book I realise how far we have come from our own intuition about food and our dietary requirements.
Since reading this book I have looked into foraging courses. Although I was aware of climate change, this book really brings the urgency home.
Thank you NetGalley and Mo for a truly life changing experience.

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. It simply contained too many strands for me, a complete foraging novice, to actually find a connection with the book.
Maybe for readers more experienced in the way Mo Wilde lives will get more from the book, but sadly, it didn't work as an introduction to the foraging lifestyle.

Mo Wilde has engaged in what lots of us would like to do, but just don’t do.
Mo Wilde spent a year living off whatever plants and other foods she could forage.
This book has a kind of magic in it, that it takes you on the journey to rekindling with nature.
It is well researched and written and a very relaxing read. I felt calmed after reading it and very much enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

A fascinating read. Mo Wilde decided spontaneously one Black Friday to live off foraged food only for a year. This meant that she had minimal preparation time. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different foods that are available to forage in Scotland, where Mo lives. I found the book inspirational and it has really piqued my interest in what foods are available locally and seasonally.

Impressive dedication to her purpose saw the expert forager Mo Wilde only tempted to break her rule once during an entire year of living off foraged and gifted wild food. And even then, she was thwarted in her wish to eat junk food, so clearly the universe planned to keep her to her task.

Stored and preserved (by herself, mainly) food was allowed. Provided it was fungi, seaweed, berries pickled in berry gin, etc. But winter was a hungry period eating mainly meat and nuts, because that is what our ancestors could keep, although a deep freeze was allowed. Mo was concerned about scurvy. She allowed herself a hen's egg from her own hens on a day when she found a nesting bird, so had to wait until spring. Wild birds can't legally be disturbed.

Mo spent an inordinate amount of time foraging, with the aid of a car, which our ancestors didn't have, to reach further mountains, woods, fields and shores. She had to know where to look in order to save some time, and she discovered that she now has a mental map of fungi mycelia and spore patterns across a large swathe of Scots countryside, as a result.

Spring brought fresh greenery, but early summer was once again hungry because no harvests or fruits were in yet. Preparation of every meal took time, such as grinding nut and dried fungal items to make flour, grinding cleavers seeds to make a coffee, and sizzling food in a little carefully stored venison fat. When late summer and autumn arrived, feasting was the order of the day, but much of the expertly sourced fungi, seeds and fruits had to be worked on to store it ahead of winter. Fish were a welcome bonus and Mo learned how to fish, which once more requires travel, equipment and time.

If you don't know many of the plants and fungi named, there isn't a photo guide so you'll need to do some careful checking. Personally, I never recommend eating found fungi, and Mo never mentions finding larvae in them, which can occur. But she does remind us that foraging is only sustainable if a small number of people do it, and if they always leave enough new leaves, seeds, spores, etc. for the continued growth of the provider.

I learned a lot and enjoyed the read.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

An interesting read. I'm not sure if foraging is something I'd ever want to do but it has opened my eyes to what's out there and what can be utilised.

The idea of living off the land – foraging etc – is not a new subject for a book but the author tackles it in a very spontaneous way. This journey through the seasons is thoughtful, accessible and as much about reconnecting with nature as it is about foraging. A fascinating read.

I will certainly be buying a copy of this for myself, I enjoyed it so much.
Such a wonderful book that is not only informative but gives you a feel good, uplifting vibe and will make you want to get outdoors. I will be recommending this book to so many people.

Took me a long time to read this book. Sorry to say i did not enjoy it. Nothing against the authour, its just not my thing.