My son's death will never make sense to me. But it has taught me that it's possible to find meaning, collectively and individually, in the loss of what we love. And in finding them, transform. Resilience is a seed that we all bear inside us. It germinates in emergencies. It sets down roots in astonishing and unexpected ways. And if we notice it, and tend to it, it blooms.

Liz Jensen's son, a zoologist, conservationist and ecological activist, was twenty-five when he collapsed and died unexpectedly. She fell apart. As she grieved, forest fires raged, coral reefs deteriorated, CO2 emissions rose and fossil fuels burned.

Your Wild and Precious Life is the story of how a mother rebuilt herself, reoriented her life and rediscovered the enchantment of the living world. Set against the backdrop of climate and ecological catastrophe, it's an argument for agency, legacy and the wild possibility of hope after devastation.

About the Author

Liz Jensen is the author of eight acclaimed novels including The Ninth Life of Louis Drax and the climate thrillers The Rapture and The Uninvited. She is a founder of the ecological campaign group Writers Rebel and the creator of the Rebel Library. She lives in Copenhagen.

@LizJensenWriter | lizjensen.com

Raphael Coleman was wildlife biologist and activist. He worked on wildlife sanctuaries all over the world, created the international wildlife workers' network The Wildwork and campaigned with Extinction Rebellion under the alias Iggy Fox. He died suddenly in February 2020 at the age of 25.

IggyFox.com

Reviews
A mother's unflinching account of finding meaning in her son's unexpected death. His is not the only death to haunt the pages of this raw and urgent memoir. Jensen's focus shifts between her own grief, and a mourning for lost nature * * Guardian * *
This book is made of diamonds and tears, glittering with brilliance, a work of priceless insight -- JAY GRIFFITHS
Liz Jensen is an amazing writer and there is huge force and power in this story of reckoning with loss -- CATHY RENTZENBRINK
Written with power and emotion, [this] beautiful and moving book explores how we live, love and grieve * * Stylist * *
Fierce and fizzing with life. It faces the monster of parental loss absolutely head on and turns it into a joyous celebration. Raph / Iggy will carry on living because of this book -- MARK HADDON
A clear-eyed, passionate and beautifully written account of love and loss. It is no small measure of Jensen's talent that a book about such a terrible and sudden event is heart-breaking yet compulsively readable, uplifting - even humorous at times: and ultimately, it is a call to action over the most pressing global issue that confronts human survival as we know it -- LOUISE DOUGHTY
A deeply moving, powerful, resonant book about the enormity of love and grief, and what it is to be alive yet mortal. Liz Jensen writes profoundly about how the impossible pain of losing a child can somehow coexist with joy, meaning and even happiness. Her meditation on 'the fierce life in grief' is beautiful -- RACHEL CLARKE
I really loved Liz Jensen's Your Wild and Precious Life. A memoir of her son, the climate activist and wildlife protector known as Iggy Fox, and of his sudden death at twenty-five, and of his continuing afterlife. The book is a devastating account of a mother's grief, but it is also inspiring and hopeful because it reminds us that our planet contains many universes, not all of which can be seen, touched or measured -- AMITAV GHOSH
Like all truly great memoirs, Your Wild and Precious Life enlightens the reader, bestows wisdom and lifts the heart. Jensen's world, in the aftermath of her son's death, is full of magical insight and spiritual growth. Her narrative is far from tragic; it is marvellous and wondrously strange. A masterpiece for our troubled times -- MONIQUE ROFFEY
Like any parent, I was terrified of reading a book about the loss of a child. But I came away from it energised and uplifted by the conviction that the soul can emerge from the deepest trauma and not just thrive, but flourish. It's like nothing else I've ever read. Uplifting, sublimely beautiful, funny, skilful, courageous and deeply necessary, Your Wild and Precious Life is a luminous love letter to a lost son, a spiritual journey, and a celebration of the living world in all its astonishing manifestations -- LALINE PAULL



Book Information
ISBN 9781838859992
Author Liz Jensen
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 350g
Dimensions(mm) 220mm * 140mm * 27mm