Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us

By Martin Shaw

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Here is a rosary of soaring myth, gripping narrative, and deep wisdom, all told with breathtaking verve that enchants and sweeps us along, from first word to last. A superb, inspiring read." --GABOR MAT , author of The Myth of Normal

From "one of the greatest storytellers we have" (Robert Bly), an urgent invitation to allow the oldest stories--and the Greatest Story--to reshape our own.

There's an old Irish belief that if you aren't wrapped in a cloak of story you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You remain adolescent at just the moment a culture worth its salt requires you to become a real, grown, human being.

In Liturgies of the Wild, acclaimed mythographer, storyteller and Christian thinker Martin Shaw argues that we live in a myth-impoverished age and that such poverty has left us vulnerable to stories that may not wish us well. Drawing on the "ancient technologies" of myths and initiatory rites, Shaw provides a road to wholeness, maturity and connection. He teaches us to read a myth the way it wants to be read; provides vivid retellings of tales powerful enough to carry you through life's travails; and shows you how to gather and reshape your own thrown-away stories. Most vividly, he shares how these ancient technologies led him--unexpectedly--to Christ, "the True Myth," by way of a thirty-year journey and a 101-night vigil in a Dartmoor forest.

Combining scholarly erudition with nimble storytelling in the tradition of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Liturgies of the Wild is a thrilling counsel of resistance and delight in the face of many modern monsters.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593716566
• ISBN13: 9780593716564
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Sentinel
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.1"