Out of the Woods
The Wainwright Prize, 2019
A fierce, poignant and highly original memoir about sexuality, shame and the lure of the trees
‘A brave and beautiful book, electrifying on sex and nature, religion and love. No one is writing quite like this. I’m so glad Luke Turner exists’ OLIVIA LAING, author of THE LONELY CITY and CRUDO
‘Refreshing, frank, edifying, courageous . . . I was quite emotional by the end. Luke Turner is a serious thinker and a unique and important new voice’ AMY LIPTROT, author of THE OUTRUN
After the disintegration of the most significant relationship of his life, the demons Luke Turner has been battling since childhood are quick to return – depression and guilt surrounding his identity as a bisexual man, experiences of sexual abuse, and the religious upbringing that was the cause of so much confusion. It is among the trees of London’s Epping Forest where he seeks refuge. But once a place of comfort, it now seems full of unexpected, elusive threats that trigger twisted reactions.
No stranger to compulsion, Luke finds himself drawn again and again to the woods, eager to uncover the strange secrets that may be buried there as he investigates an old family rumour of illicit behaviour. Away from a society that still struggles to cope with the complexities of masculinity and sexuality, Luke begins to accept the duality that has provoked so much unrest in his life – and reconcile the expectations of others with his own way of being.
OUT OF THE WOODS is a dazzling, devastating and highly original memoir about the irresistible yet double-edged potency of the forest, and the possibility of learning to find peace in the grey areas of life.
‘A brave and beautiful book, electrifying on sex and nature, religion and love. No one is writing quite like this. I’m so glad Luke Turner exists’ OLIVIA LAING, author of THE LONELY CITY and CRUDO
‘Refreshing, frank, edifying, courageous . . . I was quite emotional by the end. Luke Turner is a serious thinker and a unique and important new voice’ AMY LIPTROT, author of THE OUTRUN
After the disintegration of the most significant relationship of his life, the demons Luke Turner has been battling since childhood are quick to return – depression and guilt surrounding his identity as a bisexual man, experiences of sexual abuse, and the religious upbringing that was the cause of so much confusion. It is among the trees of London’s Epping Forest where he seeks refuge. But once a place of comfort, it now seems full of unexpected, elusive threats that trigger twisted reactions.
No stranger to compulsion, Luke finds himself drawn again and again to the woods, eager to uncover the strange secrets that may be buried there as he investigates an old family rumour of illicit behaviour. Away from a society that still struggles to cope with the complexities of masculinity and sexuality, Luke begins to accept the duality that has provoked so much unrest in his life – and reconcile the expectations of others with his own way of being.
OUT OF THE WOODS is a dazzling, devastating and highly original memoir about the irresistible yet double-edged potency of the forest, and the possibility of learning to find peace in the grey areas of life.
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Reviews
OUT OF THE WOODS had me hooked. Refreshing, frank, edifying, courageous . . . I was quite emotional by the end. Luke Turner is a serious thinker and a unique and important new voice
OUT OF THE WOODS is a brave and beautiful book, electrifying on sex and nature, religion and love. No one is writing quite like this. I'm so glad Luke Turner exists
OUT OF THE WOODS is emotionally and sexually charged, deeply moving, with hauntingly exquisite writing and an extraordinary command of language that draws you into the depths of the forest and Luke's struggles with bisexuality, religion and love. Such raw honesty is precious and makes for a powerful read. I feel like I want to bind this book in wood and keep it in a special place for when I return to read it again and again
Unflinching on relationships, the nature of obsession, lust, masculinity, faith and lost innocence. OUT OF THE WOODS is a very special book
Sparkling with sexual energy and intelligence, OUT OF THE WOODS is both a timely reminder of the dangers of concealment and suppression, and a powerful testament to the redemptive power of - lovingly, determinedly - making what was hidden known
A compulsive and beautifully written debut: all those who loved THE OUTRUN should read it
OUT OF THE WOODS is like nothing I've read before - rich, honest, humane and thoughtful, it is utterly original and really gets into the bones
Turns the nature memoir genre upon its head . . . OUT OF THE WOODS is a book full of poetry and pathos. More than anything it is a bold and beautiful study of how to be a true modern man
This is a book to get lost in...A disturbing trauma narrative, it's also a work of delightfully low, pants-dropping comedy, and a learned meditation
Turner mixes vulnerability with the sort of insight that comes only through a complex honesty
Honest, haunting and moving, OUT OF THE WOODS envelops you in its leafy, sprawling pages, and squeezes tight. Captivating and poignant
Truly beautiful prose... the candour and insightful scholarship Turner brings to his subject make it a very worthwhile read
Achieves that tricky balance of feeling both deeply personal and totally universal
An important and moving memoir about the struggles of being bisexual . . . His brave, often poetic prose encompasses the pastoral, the confessional, and the erotic
A transformative, brutally honest memoir which is unafraid to stalk the monster that hides in the darkest of forests. OUT OF THE WOODS is like the Brothers Grimm adapted by Derek Jarman and it is easily one of my books of the year
An unflinching and unsentimental portrait of place, spirituality and sexuality . . . Turner's is a memoir stripped of nostalgia - honest to its bones - and a bold reimagining of what nature writing can be