Book: A History of Wild Places
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Genre: Thriller > Magical Realism
Date Read: 1/17/22
Stars: ★★★★★

Challenge: The 52 Book Club
Promt: #14 – A character with superhuman ability

Summary:
It begins with Travis Wren, a man with the superhuman ability to touch objects to envision memories associated with each piece. He is hired to locate a missing author, Maggie St. James, who entered the woods and never returned. Into the thick of it, he stumbles upon an off the grid community. Like Maggie, he disappears.

Reaction: 
I find it enticing to live in an off the grid community. A world where you can feel your heart beat at a slow pace while finding peace in nature with like-minded people; practicing yoga and meditation; eating food from harvest — letting children be children, educating them on survival, farming, building, math, and reading. A place away from smart devices and anxiety induced phone calls. Away from the drama of the fast-paced life, media, and consumerism. Ah, utopia. 

However, I would not want to live in the cultish group of Paradise led by a serpentine leader in the book. A nightmare! Wow. 

Haunting, poignant, dark, disturbing, and spellbinding. Ernshaw built a world down the rabbit hole filled with love and simplicity mingled with manipulation and nightmare. I could not put it down.