Science & Math
Biological Sciences
![Geoffroy Delorme - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_geoffroy_delorme.jpg)
Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Wild
For readers of Fox & I comes "a fable very much for our time."―The TIMES
"Unusual and fascinating... Read this book and enter into another world."― Jane Goodall
In this sensuous and moving memoir, a young man forms a powerful connection with deer while living alone in the woods for seven years.
Geoffroy Delorme does not fit in the human world. As a boy, he dreams of transforming into a fox so he can escape into the forest. As he gets older, he disappears into the woods at night, drawn to the rhythms of animal life. One night, an encounter with a deer changes his life: from then on, he knows he wants to live among them.
Delorme becomes a creature of the forest. He learns to live without a tent or sleeping bag and forage for whatever food he can find. He blends in with the deer and, slowly, they accept him into their world. He witnesses their births and deaths, courtship and battles, ostracism and friendship over the cycles of their lives. Among the deer, he experiences the beauty, pain, fear, and joy of a life lived as a part of nature, not separate from it.
In his final year in the forest, Delorme meets a woman walking through the trees. He knows he can stay in the forest and die with his friends―or he can leave, and speak their truth to a human world that desperately needs to hear it.
Deer Man is a moving story of what it's like to be an outsider and how forming connections with the natural world can help us feel less alone. A unique and powerful window into how far one human is willing to go to understand an animal, Deer Man asks us to never take for granted the flora and fauna of our world, and to work for their protection in whatever ways we can.
"Unusual and fascinating... Read this book and enter into another world."― Jane Goodall
In this sensuous and moving memoir, a young man forms a powerful connection with deer while living alone in the woods for seven years.
Geoffroy Delorme does not fit in the human world. As a boy, he dreams of transforming into a fox so he can escape into the forest. As he gets older, he disappears into the woods at night, drawn to the rhythms of animal life. One night, an encounter with a deer changes his life: from then on, he knows he wants to live among them.
Delorme becomes a creature of the forest. He learns to live without a tent or sleeping bag and forage for whatever food he can find. He blends in with the deer and, slowly, they accept him into their world. He witnesses their births and deaths, courtship and battles, ostracism and friendship over the cycles of their lives. Among the deer, he experiences the beauty, pain, fear, and joy of a life lived as a part of nature, not separate from it.
In his final year in the forest, Delorme meets a woman walking through the trees. He knows he can stay in the forest and die with his friends―or he can leave, and speak their truth to a human world that desperately needs to hear it.
Deer Man is a moving story of what it's like to be an outsider and how forming connections with the natural world can help us feel less alone. A unique and powerful window into how far one human is willing to go to understand an animal, Deer Man asks us to never take for granted the flora and fauna of our world, and to work for their protection in whatever ways we can.
Editorial Reviews
"A poignant debut. … Nature lovers will delight in these candid reflections."
-Publisher's Weekly STARRED Review
"Deer Man is an absolutely enchanting book. With the eye of a scientist and the heart of a lover, Geoffroy Delorme takes us to another world that exists beside our own: not only the forest of northern France, but the umwelt of the roe deer who live here-who became, during his seven years among them, his chosen family and closest friends. Few other humans have achieved this level of intimacy with wild creatures. I am recommending this book to everyone I know."
-Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in 13 Animals
"A story of extraordinary power and tenderness… Deer Man will change you."
-Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
"A delightful, moving read – and a quietly revolutionary one."
-The Guardian
"A riveting read...remarkable and ultimately very moving"
-The Sunday Times
"A tender and sensitive glimpse into a world that exists all around us but which we seldom see or even imagine."
-Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Becoming Wild
"Geoffrey Delorme shows just how much we can learn from immersing ourselves inside the heads and hearts of these amazing beings... because of this powerful book I'll never again look at deer the same."
-Marc Bekoff, PhD, author of A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans
"Prepare yourself for a deeply immersive experience. You will be captivated to the surpris...
"Deer Man is an absolutely enchanting book. With the eye of a scientist and the heart of a lover, Geoffroy Delorme takes us to another world that exists beside our own: not only the forest of northern France, but the umwelt of the roe deer who live here-who became, during his seven years among them, his chosen family and closest friends. Few other humans have achieved this level of intimacy with wild creatures. I am recommending this book to everyone I know."
-Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in 13 Animals
"A story of extraordinary power and tenderness… Deer Man will change you."
-Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
"A delightful, moving read – and a quietly revolutionary one."
-The Guardian
"A riveting read...remarkable and ultimately very moving"
-The Sunday Times
"A tender and sensitive glimpse into a world that exists all around us but which we seldom see or even imagine."
-Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Becoming Wild
"Geoffrey Delorme shows just how much we can learn from immersing ourselves inside the heads and hearts of these amazing beings... because of this powerful book I'll never again look at deer the same."
-Marc Bekoff, PhD, author of A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans
"Prepare yourself for a deeply immersive experience. You will be captivated to the surpris...
Readers Top Reviews
peter allanManawadav
I have read the book ,the author is an excellent human being,his message regarding respecting the forest and its inhabitants is absolutely correct,but to be honest,its at least 80 pages too long
This is a book that could break your heart. Or leave you cold and indifferent. It depends upon which side of the environmental divide you fall. The side which champions progress and economic growth at any cost, or the side which understands the confusion and pain this bestows on the other animals with whom this planet should be shared (or perhaps not. If it is to human disadvantage.) Does it matter when a massive, frighteningly noisy logging machine flattens an area of forest where a young roe deer buck has just established his first small territory? When he ventures back into this area of the wood, which used to signify safety to him, he is terrified and confused, He hides himself in a thicket of brambles and wastes away. This is witnessed by the writer of this book, who lived alongside him and other roe door in a French forest for several years. There was mutual love between the man and the deer, and the writer experienced joy, anxiety and sadness as the deer 'tamed' him (rather than the other way round) and allowed him to follow them around the forest and make close bonds. This is a book for anyone who has ever wondered what it might be like to experience the world in a way other than through our own primary sense of vision. It is an amazing book.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Q&A with Geoffroy Delorme
Author of Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Wild
Even as a boy, you were fascinated by the nearby forest. Weren't you afraid too?
The woods never scared me. On the contrary, I was always drawn to it like some sort of powerful force. I believe it's due to the seclusion I experienced in my childhood. As a kid, I was homeschooled and isolated from other children: I didn't have any friends, any pets, no school trips. I looked at the nearby forest, its sense of freedom, and I fantasized about it.
When I turned 19, I decided to go and live in the forest by myself. I felt the weight of my parents' contradictions: for years I had been taught to avoid the outside world and its bad influence, but now I was told to go out and find a job, to fit in. It made me feel confused and uneasy. The forest seemed like a way out. I needed to escape the hold my family had on me and discover autonomy. When I left, my parents didn't support me. Although they raised me to respect the forest, our ways of perceiving it were completely different. I sincerely believed one could live off the land, in harmony with nature.
How did you prepare yourself for a life in the wild?
I didn't. Not consciously at least. I read books from adventurer Nicolas Vanier and primatologist Jane Goodall, amongst others, in which I learned a lot about what you could or couldn't do in the wild. Although they didn't exactly describe how they survived during their expeditions in nature, they were a great help. When I started going into the forest, I first went on short trips, just a few days, and came back home in between. Then I'd compare my experience with what the books said. I started learning more and more.
Take plants for instance: there are hundreds of plants you can eat, but you must pay attention. There are crucial distinctions between the nutritious kind, and the ones that don't bring you anything, or that can kill you. During the seven years I spent living in the woods, I experienced one year in total autonomy. For the most part I went back and forth, alternating longer and shorter stays outside. You can't just pack and leave on a whim, otherwise it's suicide.
What was it like, arriving in the forest?
As a human being, my first experience of living in the wild was pretty violent. I discovered it was impossible to sleep a full night as I was used to; back then I was still trying to sleep for 8 to 10 hours straight, but as I soon discovered, you get cold and uncomfortable after 30 minutes. I never idealized nor hated the forest, although sometimes you're tempted to. It can rain for
weeks and you simply can't keep dry, it can become very difficult, but you have to let that go.
But things changed when you met a deer.
They did. At the very beginning, my intention was simply to take a 15-day break in the forest in order to find peace and energy. I wanted to try living autonomously, see what that was like. I had never imagined being able to live amongst wild animals. But after a while, coming across them in the forest, the animals themselves started wondering about me, about my being there. It was the deer who tamed me, not the other way around. Then I met one special deer, Daguet. He started teaching me how to adapt in the forest, how to understand it. He made me realize I didn't have to sleep a whole night through. He showed me how to sleep and eat in small doses, how to select my food. Each deer taught me something different.
Would you say it was a partnership?
Yes, there was a sort of benevolence, an understanding that benefited us both. The question is simple: what can you bring each other? For him there wasn't much point in running away from me every time he saw me, that would have compromised the safekeeping of his territory. I wasn't interested in chasing him away either. We soon realized we had to find common grounds: from his perspective, my presence helped in fending off bigger, more powerful deer. That way he could gain the best territory, and the females that came with it – soon they too became used
to my presence. As for me, I had met a teacher. Daguet showed me how to sleep and eat in the forest, where to forage for the best food. Later I met Sipointe, who taught me how to shape a territory. You'd imagine it as defini...
Author of Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Wild
Even as a boy, you were fascinated by the nearby forest. Weren't you afraid too?
The woods never scared me. On the contrary, I was always drawn to it like some sort of powerful force. I believe it's due to the seclusion I experienced in my childhood. As a kid, I was homeschooled and isolated from other children: I didn't have any friends, any pets, no school trips. I looked at the nearby forest, its sense of freedom, and I fantasized about it.
When I turned 19, I decided to go and live in the forest by myself. I felt the weight of my parents' contradictions: for years I had been taught to avoid the outside world and its bad influence, but now I was told to go out and find a job, to fit in. It made me feel confused and uneasy. The forest seemed like a way out. I needed to escape the hold my family had on me and discover autonomy. When I left, my parents didn't support me. Although they raised me to respect the forest, our ways of perceiving it were completely different. I sincerely believed one could live off the land, in harmony with nature.
How did you prepare yourself for a life in the wild?
I didn't. Not consciously at least. I read books from adventurer Nicolas Vanier and primatologist Jane Goodall, amongst others, in which I learned a lot about what you could or couldn't do in the wild. Although they didn't exactly describe how they survived during their expeditions in nature, they were a great help. When I started going into the forest, I first went on short trips, just a few days, and came back home in between. Then I'd compare my experience with what the books said. I started learning more and more.
Take plants for instance: there are hundreds of plants you can eat, but you must pay attention. There are crucial distinctions between the nutritious kind, and the ones that don't bring you anything, or that can kill you. During the seven years I spent living in the woods, I experienced one year in total autonomy. For the most part I went back and forth, alternating longer and shorter stays outside. You can't just pack and leave on a whim, otherwise it's suicide.
What was it like, arriving in the forest?
As a human being, my first experience of living in the wild was pretty violent. I discovered it was impossible to sleep a full night as I was used to; back then I was still trying to sleep for 8 to 10 hours straight, but as I soon discovered, you get cold and uncomfortable after 30 minutes. I never idealized nor hated the forest, although sometimes you're tempted to. It can rain for
weeks and you simply can't keep dry, it can become very difficult, but you have to let that go.
But things changed when you met a deer.
They did. At the very beginning, my intention was simply to take a 15-day break in the forest in order to find peace and energy. I wanted to try living autonomously, see what that was like. I had never imagined being able to live amongst wild animals. But after a while, coming across them in the forest, the animals themselves started wondering about me, about my being there. It was the deer who tamed me, not the other way around. Then I met one special deer, Daguet. He started teaching me how to adapt in the forest, how to understand it. He made me realize I didn't have to sleep a whole night through. He showed me how to sleep and eat in small doses, how to select my food. Each deer taught me something different.
Would you say it was a partnership?
Yes, there was a sort of benevolence, an understanding that benefited us both. The question is simple: what can you bring each other? For him there wasn't much point in running away from me every time he saw me, that would have compromised the safekeeping of his territory. I wasn't interested in chasing him away either. We soon realized we had to find common grounds: from his perspective, my presence helped in fending off bigger, more powerful deer. That way he could gain the best territory, and the females that came with it – soon they too became used
to my presence. As for me, I had met a teacher. Daguet showed me how to sleep and eat in the forest, where to forage for the best food. Later I met Sipointe, who taught me how to shape a territory. You'd imagine it as defini...
