Lifelines: Searching for Home in the Mountains of Greece

FT - THE BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2025

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‘Lifelines is not just beautiful, it is quite literally encouraging. It will make you brave.’ The Observer

‘Set against the spectacular mountains and lakes of northern Greece, this remarkable book describes Julian and Julia's odyssey as they meet others on similar quests to find home, be they bears, pelicans or humans. Utterly relevant to our times.’ Lee Durrell, MBE



The story of a courageous leap into a new life. 

In the summer of 2000, Julian Hoffman and his wife Julia found themselves disillusioned with city life. Overwhelmed by long commutes, they stumbled upon a book about Prespa, Greece – a remote corner of Europe filled with stone villages, snow-capped mountains and wildlife, which they would soon call home.

Prespa is a crossroads. Where three countries come together around two huge lakes, where limestone collides with granite and heat-pulsing Mediterranean ecosystems meet their colder, Balkan relatives. Here, languages, wartime histories and rivers converge, and pelicans, bears and people leave their footprints on the water’s edge – next to unexploded bombs.

Lifelines is not only the tale of a courageous leap into a new life, but of seasons punctuated by unforgettable encounters, from a stare-down with a bear surrounded by spring wildflowers to a deep-winter meeting with fourteen wrens sheltering above a frozen doorway. And into this place encircled by mountains, Julian seamlessly weaves an intricate web of stories – of conflict and possibility; of refuge lost and found; of the wild lifelines that connect us all as we move through the world seeking a home.

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‘Knockout beautiful... a lifeline in itself.’ Keggie Carew, author of Dadland

‘I’ve been wondering for several years whether it was now possible for anyone writing in English to write a great book about living in Greece. Well, here it is.’ John Kittmer, former British Ambassador to Greece

‘Quite magical... A book that will refresh your soul.’ Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm 

‘A reflective, encouraging and exquisitely written memoir full of astute observations on our flawed relationship with the wild.’ Henry Bird, The Times