Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover if a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences
Jedidiah Jenkins
When his mother, Barbara, turns seventy, Jedidiah Jenkins is reminded of a sobering Our parents won’t live forever. For years, he and Barbara have talked about taking a trip together, just the two of them. They disagree about politics, about God, about the project of society—disagreements that hurt. more
221 pages, Hardcover
First published Convergent Books
4.11
Rating
2242
Ratings
304
Reviews
Jedidiah Jenkins
3 books 810 followers
Community reviews
“it could have been so different but we’ve come so far” GAHHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭as expected i laughed, cried and devoured this lmfao- i just have such a soft spot for jenkins’ work. i cant fully place it but there’s something about the way he writes & sees things that always leaves me so tender and emotional. it’s not a place i feel i can get to on command often so his books are always a welcome “door” in that way. this book wasn’t an exception. wanting to know who your mother was before she had you, trying to cope with her differences or just seeing her beyond the lens of being your mother in present day + the conflicting feelings that come with that, are experiences any child can identify with. more
It feels unfair to review a deeply personal book, but I'll do my best. Mother, Nature follows the author as he goes on a roadtrip with his mother, retracing the steps of a journey she originally took on foot with her ex-husband. The premise is that Jedidiah is a gay man and his mother believes homophobia is a sin. He still loves her and she still loves him, but there's a barrier between them that comes with her not being able to accept a vital part of who he is. I found a lot of the book to be unnecessary. more
This memoir begins with the parable, The Blind Monks and the Elephant— teaching us that truth is relative to one’s own perception and because of that, we should respect everyone’s perspective, even if that looks different to our own. We really see this come in to play in this memoir with Jed and his mother and their two different beliefs in God and politics. This part of Jed’s story really resonated with me. I, having similar grief with my mother —her shaking her head and saying, more to herself than to me, “where did I go wrong. ” anytime I disagree with her religious or political views— found it incredibly relatable. more
As a non-American I hadn´t known the author before, so went into reading this memoir with an open heart, mostly going by the blurb. Jenkins goes on a trip with his evangelical mother to relive her walk across America with his father decades ago, but most importantly to talk with her about her rejection of his homosexuality. Sadly this important talk only happens after 80% into the book and is only shortly discussed. The trip itself is dragging till then, interspersed only with descriptions of podcasts and similar superficialities. The topics the author touches, like faith, sexuality, parent-child relationship and the wish to be accepted by them, are only dealt briefly with, and the persons don´t really touch the reader emotionally. more
I spent many years in a fundamentalist Christian organization so I was worried that this book would be triggering for me. It was not at all. I could have been on this road trip with either of my own parents. They are both conservative, alt-right types who deeply believe in Jesus (although they are vaccinated lol). I do not share their beliefs. more
I was drawn to Mother, Nature primarily because someone close to me is wrestling with the same core question that this book looks to address. That is, “How can someone maintain a relationship with a family member or friend when they won’t fully accept you for who you are. ” In Jenkins case, his mother has shown consistent disapproval of his sexuality as a gay man, and yet his desire for relationship with her persists… but not without strain and conflict. Jenkins is a beautiful storyteller, sharing poignantly about his 2 week journey across America (by car), retracing the steps that his mother and father made 40 years prior on foot. His memory and depiction of the conversations had between them over that two week period is astounding. more
Another fantastic book by Jed. It was honest, vulnerable, and so educational. Jed having deep conflict with his parent who he also deeply loves and feels loved by while seeking connection feels so relevant and I think most readers could benefit from the read. . more
Jedediah Jenkins loves his mother deeply. He loves her adventure for life, he loves her deep wit, and her ability to make friends with anyone standing near her in a hotel lobby. Nonetheless, they disagree DEEPLY when it comes to religion, politics, and societal growth. His mother, Barbara, walked across America with her then husband, and Jedidiah feels it will bring them closer together if the two of them road trip that journey from the past. He seeks unity and agreement, but finds this isn’t so simple. more
I like Jedidiah Jenkins and his mother so. very. much. Walk Across America was my first “walking” book. It was on my dad’s bookshelf and I was all in. more
Downloaded the audio book after listening to Jedidiah on armchair expert. I just had to hear more. Having left a religion I can relate to every emotion in his writing. Inspired by how we can navigate relationships and love others despite different core beliefs. Found it really healing . more
I decided to read this after hearing Jedidiah’s episode on Armchair expert and absolutely loved the read. I haven’t read a memoir like this but the story telling is excellent with hilarious moments and deeply emotional ones. A great story and peak inside the behind the scenes of a complex relationship between a mother and son. Highly highly recommend. more
I knew before even starting this book, it was something I was going to need to savor. Jedidiah’s writing has been like a salve to me ever since I discovered him on Instagram all those years ago. Having read his other two books, I knew whatever he wrote next I would love. But this book. This one hits close to home. more
I finished this one at the back of December as a kind of companion to a reading series on motherhood. As someone who spent much of adolescence in a faith practice under my mother’s influence, I was interested in how a gay man (raised even more religious than me with a mother more devout than mine) would write about his mother. I hate to be hard negative on a book a publisher was so kind as to let me read for free, but I know other people are positive on Jenkins’s work, so I feel there is enough counterbalance. My biggest issue is there is little fulfillment of premise. The author’s goal is to have a (kind) confrontation with his mother following an email he sent her trying to establish the limits her religion may be having on her acceptance of the author. more
I seem to have fallen into a rabbit hole of parent-child relationships with each of my last 4 books dealing in part with this topic. With Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover if a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences, I walked into it willingly, because I intended to read it as a companion piece to The Marches: A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland another book about a son traveling with an aging parent. Jedidiah Jenkins is the son of Peter and Barbara Jenkins who walked across America in the 1970s. They have since divorced but Jedidiah has remained in contact with both of them. He has often been on trips with his mother, he loves her but they have vastly different views on many topics. more
Jedidiah Jenkins is such an eloquent, thought-provoking writer. His first book To Shake The Sleeping Self was so moving and insightful to me that I was really excited to get a chance to read Mother, Nature. Similar to Jedidiah’s other work, this book is a perfect escape for readers who are interested travel, adventure, and seeking deeper meaning. However, this book also explores complicated family dynamics and how to maintain relationships with those we fundamentally disagree with as he takes a trip across the country with his mother, retracing the steps she took on a walk across the country with his dad back in the 70s. I really appreciate Jedidiah’s willingness to discuss faith and sexuality and his perspective on the differing beliefs he and his mom have. more
4. 5⭐️ This was a beautiful exploration of how we love those closest to us when there are such fundamental differences in our beliefs. There was a bit of a lull for me about halfway through, but afterward I realize it had to culminate exactly how it did. So much was unspoken for much of the book that it came tumbling out all at once. I had a lump in my throat for the last 30 pages, but ultimately finished reading the last paragraph with a chuckle and a feeling of hope. more
Came across this book listening to a podcast. Cannot recommend enough-should be required reading 😭 I will think about the lessons Jed and his mom teach us in this story for the rest of my life . more
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4. 2 I love Jedidiah and am always excited for whatever he writes. I enjoyed this book very much. Would definitely recommend. . more
Jedidiah has such a captivating style of writing and this book is no exception. That being said I had a couple qualms with this particular book of his which attributes to the lower rating given. First the excessive transcripts of podcasts. If I wanted to know that in depth about it I would be listening to them instead of reading this ya know. Second the information shared seemed repetitive while other background (like about his parents past) was left out almost like we should already know about them duh. more
Incredibly poor writing with very little depth or introspection. Long passages that are Wikipedia excerpts or transcript(s) from unnamed true crime podcasts are scattered throughout the book. Why. At some points they are looking for places like statues, houses or cemeteries that his mom remembers from her journey before he was born but can’t find and neither of them think to google them or ask for help. Why. more
Omg this book gave me allll the feels. As a millennial with boomer parents, so much of Jedidiah’s story is relatable. On the last road trip I took with my parents we too had to resort to true crime/history podcasts for the long hours in the car. So much of the parts about how different his worldview is from his mom’s and yet their continued love for each other remains steadfast reminded me of me and my dad. And I totally saw my mom in his in all the ways she just wanted to spend all the time with him and he just needed a break sometimes. more
Mother, Nature is the recounting of a mother son road-trip with a big purpose. Jedidiah Jenkins wants some insurance against regret by spending time with and learning more about his aging mother. He also has a very important question to ask her. Jenkins’ parents once walked over 3,000 miles across the American West and wrote the best selling Walk Across America series about their travels. His parents have since divorced, but he decides to recount his parents travels in a cross country road trip with his mother. more
“Our parents won't live forever. ”. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for when I picked up this book. His mother strongly believed that God will right her son one day while his son had accepted the fact that there is nothing wrong with him. It can be difficult sometime to love someone whose beliefs differ to our own. more
Thank you to Net Galley and Convergent Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is a road trip memoir and at the heart is a mother-son relationship filled with love yet there is one thing the author wants from his mother - acceptance of being gay. As his mother is in her 70s, he has the realization that she isn't going to be around forever and he wants to spend more time with her, also to have further discussions about being gay. His mother is conservative and religious and has told him she loves him deeply but cannot accept his decision to be gay. In the 70s, his parents did a cross country walk from New Orleans to Oregon and wrote a book about it that became a bestseller. more
formulaic memoir book but so very relatable. jeds life experiences felt like some mirror of mine & the evangelical childhood & evangelical heuristic he narrates were familiar in a good and cathartic way. the author was annoying and i didnt like him very much but his parental approval insights were goodthe point of this book was obviously to introduce nuance into the “my world view leads me to think that your identity is not valid” conversation, but jeds conclusion didnt sit right with me. sometimes narratives are totalizing and thats okay. like - instead of making a totalizing narrative less totalizing i think its probably better to navigate its harms. more
This was a great audio book. It read just like a podcast in my opinion. I found out about this book after listening to the arm chair expert episode with Jedidiah and it was recommended by my coworker (hey Morgan. ). Honestly a beautiful but also sad story about the relationship between mother and son. more
The author takes his mother on a journey to relive her walk across America, that she did in 1978 with her now divorced husband. Sadly, they did the whole trip in the car, staying at boring hotels. I expected them to at least walk one mile in each area. But no, they drove while she read passages from the book she wrote and reminisced. The best part of the book was the honest conversations they had as they drove. more
I loved this audiobook - I listened intently, laughed out loud, grimaced, and nearly cried. Jedidiah’s narration was excellent. This was an enlightening listen that made me evaluate my relationship with my mother (& father) a bit, with whom I also have discovered I have differing life views. Traveling one on one with a parent is TOUGH (I’ve been there), and I applaud Jedidiah for having the courage to have those tough conversations with his mother that a lot of us can’t. I highly recommend this book. more
There is something shocking when a child asks a parent point blank for what they need and the parent says just as plainly I can’t give you that and I’m not willing to try. All our scripts tell us this is damaging and abusive and Jedidiah tells us it set him free. It’s hard to wrap your head around this relationship that is full of love and contradiction. It’s a completely valid and healthy choice to walk away in this situation and I’m still not sure what i think of the book overall but i know I will continue to think about it which is always a good sign. 3. more