u003cbu003eA moving, heartbreaking, and lyrical true story of the author’s escape from an apocalyptic cult—and the survival skills that led to her freedom. u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003eu003ciu003eMy family prepared me for the end of the world, but I know how to survive on what the earth yields. u003c/iu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e As a child, Michelle Dowd grew up on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest. She was born into an ultra-religious cult—or the Field as they called it—started in the 1930s by her grandfather, a mercurial, domineering, and charismatic man who convinced generations of young male followers that he would live 500 years and ascend to the heavens when doomsday came. u003ciu003eComfort and care are sinsu003c/iu003e, Michelle is toldu003ciu003e.u003c/iu003e As a result, she was forced to learn the skills necessary to battle hunger, thirst, and cold; she learned to trust animals more than humans; and most importantly, she learned how to survive in the natural world.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e At the Field, a young Michelle lives a life of abuse, poverty, and isolation, as she obeys her family’s rigorous religious and patriarchal rules—which are so extreme that Michelle is convinced her mother would sacrifice her, like Abraham and Isaac, if instructed by God. She often wears the same clothes for months at a time; she is often ill and always hungry for both love and food. She is taught not to trust Outsiders, and especially not Quitters, nor her own body and its warnings.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e But as Michelle gets older, she realizes she has the strength to break free. u003ciu003eFocus on what will sustain, not satiate youu003c/iu003e, she tells herselfu003ciu003e. Use everything. Waste nothing. Get to know the intricacies of the land, like the intricacies of your body. u003c/iu003eAnd so she does.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e Using stories of individual edible plants and their uses to anchor each chapter, u003ciu003eForageru003c/iu003e is both a searing coming-of-age story and a meditation on the ways in which understanding nature can lead to freedom, even joy.u003cbru003e