A memoir about abandoning an exhausting commuter lifestyle to move to a cabin in the woods, embracing imperfection while cultivating a life of care for self and nature.

Alice Irene Whittaker was addicted to productivity, perfectionism, and discipline, making sure that every single moment of the day was accounted for. Then she finds herself as a new mother, commuting four hours a day into the city, exhausted by the state of the world, paralyzed by climate guilt and anxiety. Overnight, Alice Irene and her family decide to retreat to a cabin in the woods, in search of a new kind of life.

Surrounded by creek, meadow, and forest, Alice Irene begins a new lifelong journey of repairing her fractured relationship with both herself and the natural world. Her quest takes her to meet a renowned economist-rancher in Colorado, to stand at the side of a runway at a sustainable fashion show in Portland, and to witness firsthand rewilding of wolves in Yellowstone. She interviews and learns from dozens of people who are building homes, growing food, making clothes, raising families, and living their lives in regenerative ways.

Searching for the spaces between the sorrow of wildfires and the beauty of wildflowers, Homing is a lyrical memoir about moving from a life of despair to a life of care.

Alice Irene Whittaker is an author, mother, and environmental communications leader. She is the creator and host of the Reseed podcast. She has been a finalist for all three CBC Literary Prizes, and her writing has been published in national and international publications. Alice Irene has spent over a decade in leadership and executive roles in nonprofit organizations. With her husband, three children, brood of chickens, trio of cats, and a dog, Alice Irene lives in a cabin in the woods on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe land in Québec. Homing is her first book.

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"Homing reminds us of the small wonders underfoot and overhead: a delicate nest, a snapping turtle, and a soaring sunflower that connects heaven and earth. Alice Irene Whittaker lays down the burden of overachievement to find true nourishment in rooting, resting, and building home. Her wide-ranging memoir skillfully highlights the sheer pleasure and responsibility of being alive."

Amanda Lewis