Markus Torgeby

The most beautiful book I ever read.' - Rune Larsson, ultra-distance runner Markus Torgeby was just 20 years old when he headed off into the remote Swedish forest to live as a recluse and dedicate himself to his one true passion: running. He lived in a tent in the wilderness, braving the harsh Swedish winters - for four years. This is his story. An international bestseller, this extraordinary book is a powerful exploration of running, resilience, loss, and self-discovery. A talented long-distance runner in his teens, Markus Torgeby excelled in training, but often failed inexplicably in competition. Pressurised by his coach and consumed by the suffering of his MS-afflicted mother, he chose to do something that most of us only dream of: escape the modern world. In his stripped-back lifestyle in the woods, surviving with the bare minimum of supplies and enduring extreme cold, he found salvation and ultimately his true direction in life.

In the vein of Erling Kagge's Silence and Lars Mytting's Norwegian Wood, Under the Open Skies: A Practical Guide to Living Close to Nature combines escapism and adventure with a love of nature and the desire for a simpler life. Twenty years ago, Markus Torgeby traded his hectic urban lifestyle for a small hut in the forests of northern Sweden. He ended up living there for four years, in perfect solitude and in harmony with nature. Today, he and his wife Frida and their three children live in a house he built with his own hands, near the site where he once survived on nothing but oatmeal, river water and the forest's own pantry. Framed with stunning photographs taken by Frida, Under the Open Skies is the story of Markus's journey from broken youth, to living alone in the forest, to a self-healed family man. Torgeby is proof of the restorative powers of the outdoors and his descriptions of living close to nature combine everyday philosophy and inspirational insights with helpful advice as he shares how to make fire, the best techniques for chopping logs and how best to forage for food. Part practical guide to how to live in the wild, part a meditation on the human need for a connection with the natural world, Under the Open Skies is the beguiling and timely portrait of how the desire for a simpler existence helped one man find contentment and connection with the world around him, and how we can all learn from his experience.

'The most beautiful book I ever read.' - Rune Larsson, ultra-distance runner Markus Torgeby was just 20 years old when he headed off into the remote Swedish forest to live as a recluse and dedicate himself to his one true passion: running. He lived in a tent in the wilderness, braving the harsh Swedish winters - for four years. This is his story. An international bestseller, this extraordinary book is a powerful exploration of running, resilience, loss, and self-discovery. A talented long-distance runner in his teens, Markus Torgeby excelled in training, but often failed inexplicably in competition. Pressurised by his coach and consumed by the suffering of his MS-afflicted mother, he chose to do something that most of us only dream of: escape the modern world. In his stripped-back lifestyle in the woods, surviving with the bare minimum of supplies and enduring extreme cold, he found salvation and ultimately his true direction in life.