The Short of It:

Naked in Eden is a personal journey of self-discovery that reminds us of the beauty that can be found in an unplugged world.

The Rest of It:

Robin Easton, mildly autistic and overwhelmed with the demands of society, heads into the Australian rainforest with her husband Ian, pitches a tent and becomes one with nature.

I have to be honest here, this book was a bit hard to get through. Just a couple of pages in, Easton talks of her encounter with a snake.

"Okay Red-belly, I hear you. One of us has gotta be vulnerable. I’ll take the risk. I need to test my courage. And you’re right; I’m heaps larger than you. I must appear huge. Since I’ve intruded in your space, I’ll retreat first. You can trust me. Please let me trust you. I don’t want to become paralyzed from your bite."

Really?

Although I understand the need for these interactions, and that Easton was truly trying to blend into the scenery, these sections of text were excruciating to read. They were flat and abbreviated in a halting way and they are peppered throughout the book.

I had to take stock of the situation. I literally put the book down and tried to see it from the author’s point of view. I realized after thinking about it for a bit, that this is really a personal journey for the author and that perhaps it wasn’t written with other readers in mind. That perhaps the whole goal was to document her journey of self-discovery and that anyone in a similar place in life, would be able to identify with it. I decided to respect the author’s interpretation.

With this mindset, I picked the book up again and was able to appreciate the “unplugged” aspect. It’s so stressful to exist in today’s world. The overwhelming demands of work, family and the expectation to juggle it all with ease. There is beauty in simplicity and this does come through in the book.

So, in the end, I could appreciate the importance of the author’s discovery. However, I think it would have been a much richer experience for me as a reader if the author had included a bit more of her “before” life so that I could see the transformation myself. I wanted to feel as if I was right there with her, and unfortunately, I didn’t feel that way. ( )