A review by sindri_inn_arsaeli
Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Teach Us about the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans by Michaeleen Doucleff

reflective medium-paced

3.0

Not bad, but it couldn't really grip me, either. I did a LOT of skimming, and I don't feel I lost out on much of anything. It was hard to gauge the timeline of how long she spent with each culture she wanted to visit, but the emotional/memoir side of the writing seemed very sudden and blunt, like she was suddenly taught whatever the lesson was in as little as a day, and while she claimed at the end how much her journeys with her daughter have changed both of them that didn't feel reflected very well in the narrative. And as far as the specific parenting advice she is trying to to pass on, there was SO much repetition, it honestly just got boring. Plus, I'm really starting to notice after having read a few books of this broad type (parenting guide mixed with memoir, especially if geared towards getting kids outdoors,) and it's REALLY starting to bother me how much it's a joint parenting venture if written by a man, but when a woman is writing about trying to be a better parent, the father is almost invisible, and seems only to be mentioned a few times as if to reassure the reader that even thoigh he was part of zero soul searching trips or experiments, the fact that hes in the house gives him points. I don't know if her husband is an amazing parent or a complete jerk who assumes she'll do all the work of raising their daughter, because he's barely mentioned either way.

This book came highly recommended, but for the type of book it is, it definitely hasn't been my favorite.