Brenda Peterson

In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's Wildlife in America or Aldo Leopold, Brenda Peterson tells the 300-year history of wild wolves in America. It is also our own history, seen through our relationship with wolves. The earliest Americans revered them. Settlers zealously exterminated them. Now, scientists, writers, and ordinary citizens are fighting to bring them back to the wild. Peterson, an eloquent voice in the battle for twenty years, makes the powerful case that without wolves, not only will our whole ecology unravel, but we'll lose much of our national soul.

The Life, Death, and Return of Wild American Wolves

Wolf Nation

Linda Hogan

A compendium of more than three dozen nonfiction essays and poems is comprised of writings by women on plants and their role in food, medicine, clothing, beauty, and art. Reprint.

Women Writing on the Green World

The Sweet Breathing of Plants

Sarah Jane Freymann

"Whether you're writing your memoir for self-exploration, to leave a legacy, or for publication, Your Life Is A Book takes you on a step-by-step journey from concept to completion. This writer's guide to the memoir is rich with insight, advice, storytelling, and encouragement. Memoirist Brenda Peterson and New York literary agent, Sarah Jane Freymann team up to share with you their expertise in writing and publishing your life story. Your Life Is A Book offers accessible and inspiring writing techniques, exercises, publishing tips, and real-life stories of other authors whose memoirs have transformed their life and work. The book is also a practical guide to both traditional and indie publishing, including interviews with professional editors, publishers, critics, and memoirists. Every life is remarkable in its own way, but this book shows you how to write a book that others will want to read and share"--

How to Craft & Publish Your Memoir

Your Life is a Book

finding rapture here on Earth

I want to be left behind

Deena Metzger

Provides insight into the unique relationship that exists between women and animals and includes contributions from Diane Ackerman, Annie Dillard, Jane Goodall, Temple Grandin, and Barbara Kingsolver.

The Bond Between Women and Animals

Intimate Nature

Everyone has a story to tell. Learn how to write your memoir and get published with the help of two well-known publishing professionals. Your Life is a Book guides budding writers though the transformative process of memoir writing to publication. In addition to exploring the unique elements of crafting a memoir—story arc, point of view, dialogue, where to start (not the beginning!)–Your Life is a Book also focuses on the self-exploration, awareness, and understanding that this emotional literary project triggers. With proven writing exercises and prompts, this book is a practical and enlightening guide to perfecting the art of memoir writing. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Raised in the High Sierras, Brenda Peterson was influenced daily by wildlife. Here, she explores her deep connection with animals--from watching grizzlies in Montana's Rockies to her work for the restoration of wild wolves in the West--and includes intimate stories of wild dolphins, whales, and orcas she has studied for 20 years. 17 photos.

A Life with Animals

Build Me an Ark

"Peterson writes of nature with an intimacy that tugs at the reader's deep memory."—Orion This is the story of a life and spirit guided by animals. Brenda Peterson was raised in the High Sierras on a national forest lookout station, and wildlife had a daily, defining influence on her life. Peterson explores her deep connection with animals, from watching grizzlies in Montana's Rockies, to keeping Siberian huskies as pets in New York City, to her work for the restoration of wild wolves. Her lively storytelling bridges the worlds of human and animal, as she fascinates us with intimate stories of her studies of wild dolphins, whales, and orcas. Peterson reveals how animal bonds have enriched her life and led her toward a wider epiphany: As a species we cannot live without other animals. "[A] wealth of fascinating anecdotes and insights...[an] engaging memoir."—Publishers Weekly

In Brenda Peterson's unusual memoir, fundamentalism meets deep ecology. The author's childhood in the high Sierra with her forest ranger father led her to embrace the entire natural world, while her Southern Baptist relatives prepared eagerly and busily to leave this world. Peterson survived fierce "sword drill" competitions demanding total recall of the Scriptures and awkward dinner table questions ("Will Rapture take the cat, too?") only to find that environmentalists with prophecies of doom can also be Endtimers. Peterson paints such a hilarious, loving portrait of each world that the reader, too, may want to be Left Behind.

Finding Rapture Here on Earth

I Want to Be Left Behind

Toni Frohoff

The Dolphin-Human relationship is probed in great detail through literature, myth, and science, with a variety of experts contributing essays on this fascinating chapter in the history of biology. (Biology & Natural History)

Celebrating the Dolphin-human Bond

Between Species

"This stirring book of photographs introduces the many wolves that have been given sanctuary at Wolf Haven International near Mount Rainer in southeast Washington State...Brenda Peterson's text puts the stories of these wolves, and of wolves in North America, into context as she describes their behavior patterns and social structure. Wolf Haven uncovers new truths about wolves and the ways humans are finding to coexist with these wild animals."--

Sanctuary and the Future of Wolves in North America

Wolf Haven

A picture book homage to Granny, the world’s oldest known orca, who lived to be 105 years old! For animal lovers and future environmentalists. “Will Granny and her family come again this year?” Dark fins slice through whitecaps, heading straight toward shore. Told from the perspective of young Mia and her family on a whale-watching excursion in the San Juan Islands, here is a moving homage to Granny, the world’s oldest known orca. This intimate and informative story celebrates the importance of respecting and protecting wildlife. It also sheds light on communication and family connections in both human and orca communities, all while answering essential questions about how these intelligent animals live. Christy Ottaviano Books

The Oldest, Wisest Whale in the World

Wild Orca

Traces the lives of gray whales during their migrations between Alaska and Mexico, from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to winter birthing lagoons in Baja, examining their rich history including the conflict between their hunters and environmental protectors. Reprint.

The Gray Whales' Mysterious Journey

Sightings

From the vantage points of diverse backgrounds and beliefs, the writings gathered here describe a vast range of spiritual searches and encounters. Terry Tempest Williams describes her family's Mormon tradition and Mary Gordon captures the attactions of the contemplative life, each in her way exploring her heritage and venturing beyond it. Elaine H. Pagels remembers an ancient past when God was a mother. Sy Montgomery writes about shamans and other women at one with the world, while Jane Goodall reflects on the symbiosis between science and religion after experiencing an ecstatic loss of self in the company of chimpanzees. Considering the place of God in the art of the everyday, Ursula K. Le Guin speaks about the feminine aspects of the Tao Te Ching, and Starhawk explains witchcraft as a way of practicing faith.

Women Writers on Faith, Mysticism, and Awakening

Face to Face

Born into the contained and exacting world of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Brenda Peterson was shaped by a rigorous doctrine, worldview, and lifestyle that she never questioned—until she found herself trapped in an abusive marriage that shook the very foundations of who she thought she was, what she thought she wanted, and what she had always held on to as Truth. Peterson’s candid and contemplative memoir captures the journey of innocence, angst, struggle, heartbreak, and ultimate revelation that led one woman to leave everything she had ever known to discover a life she had never thought possible. Letting Go is a balm for anyone who has ever felt locked in a relationship, religion, or lifestyle that was toxic to one’s soul—and who craves the courage, self-discovery, and empowerment that can ultimately lead one to freedom, fulfillment, and joy.

Brenda Peterson

Books

Your next favorite book is out there