On days when I need a little hope or a bit of calm I often find myself going back to A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. A short novella that can be read in an afternoon, this book gives us a potential future of compassion and peace. While it may be shelved in sci-fi, Chambers' writing far transcends my expectations of the genre. It is much more than the story of a monk and a stranger on the road, but rather a meditation on what it means to be human.
Sibling Dex leaves the quiet and calm of their old life in the city looking for something more. They search through the wild for a peace that only nature can bring, something like the feeling of crickets singing in a cool night breeze. During this wandering they meet a stranger on their own path of discovery, who has struck out to answer one question: what does humanity need?
The two discuss this question in a series of episodic conversations that make this book a true comfort read. What is it to be human? Why would we seek out discomfort? What is it about humanity that gives us such drive for something more? I love this little book because every time I read it I find new resonance and new questions. If there was ever a book to send me on my own hermit-like journey into the woods, this is the one.
H Rooker is the Assistant Store Manager at Still North Books and Bar, and a lifelong New Englander.