Lifelines: Searching for Home in the Mountains of Greece Hardcover – 15 May 2025

"Prespa: Three Countries, Two Lakes, One Future"Nestled between Albania, North Macedonia and Greece is a unique world- detached from the madness of cities; the insanity of commercialism and full of a diversity in wildlife- flora and fauna - that can only be found in this little pocket off the planet.Including three national parks and two lakes -The Great and The Small Prespa, Julian Hoffman and his partner Julia arrived in this "remote " area in the late 1990s and decided to make a life and home there.Lifelines is a beautiful, moving and powerful read. This isn't a regular travelogue ( move to a new country and the trials and tribulations ); this book is much more profound- a deep exploration into the connections we make whether it be with other people; the connections we build with other living creatures ; the connections we make with the surrounding environment and the understanding as to how these are all interrelated - having an impact on each other.Julian Hoffman takes the reader on a journey of deep reflection and consideration. Divided into three sections- Grounding; Shifting and The Shared World' we are challenged to consider and broaden our understanding of :The impact of borders( locally and globally ; The shift within the planet of climate and biodiversity crises; The need for all stories to be heard; The erosion of languages; The power and destruction of multinationals and the impact of the climate ; The need for solidarity and not to distant ourselves from the living world; The recognition of co-existence.Weaving the themes above within the context of the Prespa area and looking at global situations - environmental tragedies and a rapidly changing planet,Julian Hoffmann has written a necessary/vital book that should be widely read. This is a book that you will need to talk about with friends or will quote certain facts.The stories of life in the region are wonderfully recounted - the local community , the "wildlife/ local birds, fish, animals", events that take place- but the changes that have occurred in Richard and Julia's life over twenty five years shine a bright light on what is happening on a global picture.Ultimately, this a love story to what life should be - a deep held respect for all the living elements that are part of a community, country, continent and planet- a unified call to arms to stop the path that is happening and respect that the "human" is part of a bigger picture that in its destruction of wider environments and greed with just focussing on economic growth will lead to its downfall and diminish all lifelinesThank you Julian Hoffman for superb read - gripped from the start to the end