(em português → sol2070.in/2023/12/livro-god-is-an-octopus/ )

"God Is An Octopus" (2023) is englishman Ben Goldsmith's autobiographical account of the loss of his 15-year-old daughter and how his involvement with reforestation initiatives saved him, as the subtitle describes: "Loss, love and a call to nature."

Because it's a true story, which easily arouses empathy, and quite significant in the face of the current ecological collapse, it's a book that conveys a rich life experience like few others. All the more so because the language is almost oral, so simple.

After his loss, Goldsmith begins a spiritual quest to try to find meaning and, in the end, he arrives where he has always been. Ever since he was a child, he treated the union and (the attempt at) harmony with nature as a kind of spirituality, although this dynamic was not 100% conscious.

The long process of mourning showed the author in practice how this larger context of life supports and restores. This is what the book's title refers to.

This figurative octopus also appears in a central insight during an ayahuasca immersion at the end, which is practically a model journey of how this psychedelic revives natural connections (it did for me too).

Although I was delighted with the extensive descriptions of ecosystems and processes of restoration and regeneration, I didn't enjoy them as much, since they are about european species that I don't even know the names of.

Another annoyance was my attitude, almost a prejudice. The author is a wealthy investor from England. The settings overflow with privileges that very few people can enjoy. No problem on the author's part; who says rich people can't write books? In his favor, he's not only a great supporter of environmental initiatives, but he also gets his hands dirty.

But I always had this nagging feeling: "Is he really as nice as he makes out in the book?" Perhaps I should rely more on the recommendation that led me to read the book, from George Monbiot, an author and environmental activist whom I follow and admire.