A guide to living fully and humanely by learning the wisdom of
authentic manual work.
Many of us live in a world of constant abstraction, immersed in our
heads and our screens. But there is a deeper wisdom to be found in
working with our hands in the real world. In The Wisdom of Our
Hands, craftsman and educator Doug Stowe shows how working with our
hands, either professionally or as a hobby, is essential for a full
education and a full life.
Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 25 years as a teacher of
handcrafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to
express themselves creatively through tangible work. The use of one's
hands and whole body to make physical things and reshape our
surroundings promotes both physical and mental health and fosters a
sense of mastery in both young and adult students.
A life of craftsmanship offers the opportunity and obligation to define
one's own values. Drawing on his experiences living and working in
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town dedicated to handcrafts and arts, Stowe
demonstrates how craft work can create community, forge deeper social
bounds, and foster a saner attitude about the value of human labor and
material goods.
Written for everyone who wants to reconnect with the deep experience of
the human body at work, The Wisdom of Our Hands is a quietly
radical call to spiritual (and physical) action.
