Book Synopsis:
Struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter, Ben Goldsmith finds solace in nature by immersing himself in plans to rewild his farm.
In July 2019, Ben Goldsmith lost his fifteen-year-old daughter, Iris, in an accident on their family farm in Somerset. Iris’s death left her family reeling.
Grasping for answers, Ben threw himself into searching for some ongoing trace of his beloved child, exploring ideas that until then had seemed too abstract to mean much to him. Missing his daughter terribly and struggling to imagine how he would face the rest of his life in the shadow of this loss, Ben found solace in nature, the object of a lifelong fascination. As Ben set about rewilding his farm, nature became a vital source of meaning and hope.
This book is the story of a year of soul-searching that followed a terrible loss. In an instant, Ben’s world had turned dark. Yet, unbelievably to him, the seasons kept on turning, and as he immersed himself in the dramatic restoration of nature in the place where it happened, he found healing.
In God is an Octopus, Ben tells a powerful, immersive and inspiring story of finding comfort and strength in nature after suffering loss and despair.
My Review:
God Is An Octopus is an emotional, raw read that I found very fascinating and comforting.
The story follows Ben from the day of his daughter’s tragic accident and then through the following months. As someone who has lots a baby herself I found the first few chapters quite poignant and raw to read about. Ben’s grief is almost palpable and a lot of the things he describes are things I remember thinking or feeling after we lost Christopher. In a way this was comforting too as it made me work through everything that happened and realise I wasn’t alone in feeling as I had.
Ben’s exploration of nature and rewilding of his garden was very interesting to follow. I confess I didn’t realise how much the countryside had changed due to human activity and it was sad to realise how little things that we’ve done, like cutting back hedges, has affected the wildlife. I liked following his progress in this and seeing how it helped him.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to others to read. I read it as part of a group and a few people were put off by Ben’s privilege as he obviously spends a lot of money on his garden and takes a long time off work. This wasn’t a factor for me though, maybe as I didn’t realise who is was until halfway through the book , but I just saw him as a dad who has sadly lost his child.
Huge thanks to Tandem Collective for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lost someone or has a friend who is struggling with their grief at losing someone as I think it would be very helpful.
About The Author:
Ben Goldsmith is a British financier, philanthropist and environmentalist who has been at the forefront of campaigns for more rewilding in Britain and Europe.
Ben founded and chairs the Conservation Collective, a network of locally-focused environmental foundations.
Ben is the Chief Executive Officer of Menhaden, a London-listed, sustainability-themed investment company.
Ben is also a Trustee of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), one of the world’s largest climate change focused philanthropic funds.
Ben served from 2018 until 2022 as a Non-Executive Director of the UK Government’s Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.
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