Powerful matriarchs
In addition to Philippa’s stories about how nature has helped her, the book features plenty of tales of brave, pioneering women from the past and present who have thrived in the wilderness. What was the inspiration behind focusing on these fellow wild women?
“The more I started to look into that subject, the more I realised that not many people have actually done this work,” Philippa explains. “In evolutionary science, it’s mostly been looked at from a male perspective – what were the men doing, and what was their biology? So, I started wondering if there was a difference for women, and why.”
Through exploring the connection between biology and nature, Philippa examined the menopause and the impact it can have on those who experience it – not just in humankind, but in the animal kingdom too.
“Is there an evolutionary advantage to menopause? Because I always thought there wasn’t,” she laughs. “But orcas have a menopause too. They continue to live in family units – they don’t get abandoned because they’re old. In fact, they’re valued and revered because they’ve experienced so much. Not every year is the same, even under the sea. Hunting may have to shift to a different pattern, prey may have moved, currents may have changed. They rely on the older matriarch for her experience and knowledge.
“But we’ve lost, I think, a respect for the older generation that gives us the time and space to just sit and listen, which is what we need to do. I think that value needs to be passed down as much as we can, but there’s often a sense of isolation. So it’s important to keep communication open. We move around the world much more than we used to; I’ve spent many years living much further away from my mum than she would have from hers. So that sense of community is different but no less important, and I think that’s what constantly needs to be awakened.”
