Felltop Press
Felltop Press
A book by Matt Sanderson
Available now · Paperback & Kindle
You don't have to be religious, or spiritual, or the sort of person who says "energy" with a straight face, to have had it. I Wonder is a book about that feeling: why it's real, why it's one of the most ordinary things in the world, and why you don't need to believe anything supernatural to take it seriously. Not a course, not a practice, not a plan to turn you into a more enlightened you. Just the quiet news that wonder was never the private property of the religious. It was always available, to everyone, including you.
Shopping from the US? Switch to UK store
What This Book Is About
We have spent centuries arguing over who has the right faith, instead of looking at what those breathtaking moments actually do for our well-being. Drawing on neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology, I Wonder makes a simple, reassuring case: our deepest spiritual feelings are completely real, but they don't require a supernatural explanation.
What ultimately causes them? Science doesn't have a settled answer yet, and the beauty of it is, the reality of what we feel doesn't depend on an answer.
I Wonder is a warm, open exploration of the human experience. Together, we will look at consciousness, the self, meditation, awe, psychedelics, death, meaning, ethics, community, and joy. Instead of defending rigid conclusions, each chapter treats these topics as a working hypothesis for us to explore and live out.
Who it's for
For the reader who left a religion and found the leaving cost more than expected.
For the reader who never had a religion, and finds the word "amazing" inadequate for certain moments.
For anyone who suspects you should not have to choose between intellectual honesty and a rich inner life.
Early reader responses
"I literally just applauded."
"Beautifully written. Tender, thoughtful, relational and inviting."
"It finally gave me a way to hold onto what was precious from my past, while being fully at peace with what I believe now."
Jo D., GoodreadsAbout the author
Matt Sanderson came to faith as a young adult, spent the years since wrestling with it, and arrived somewhere he would cautiously describe as agnostic. It turns out this is a highly useful place to write from.
He has a background in physics, a long-standing love of the outdoors, and a particular interest in the moments when ordinary life suddenly feels anything but ordinary: standing on a mountain, hearing a piece of music, sitting quietly, losing someone you love, or simply noticing the strange fact that any of us are here at all.
Leaving certainty behind didn't make those experiences disappear. If anything, it left Matt with a question he couldn't quite shake: what do we do with experiences that feel spiritual when we no longer believe in the supernatural?
I Wonder grew out of that question.
It isn't an attempt to replace religion with another set of beliefs, or to explain away experiences that science doesn't yet fully understand. It's an exploration of what psychology, neuroscience and philosophy can tell us about awe, consciousness, meaning, mortality and the other things that make a life feel significant, and of what remains open.
Matt lives near Bristol, UK and writes about the ideas that sit at the boundary between what we can explain and what we can experience.
You don't have to explain it, name it, or believe anything about it. You just have to notice it. This book is about the moments that stop you, wherever they find you, and why they are worth paying attention to, grounded firmly in the real world and open to the plain, breathtaking mystery of being alive.
Buy now on AmazonShopping from the US? Switch to UK store
Want more?