Build Me an Ark
A Life with Animals
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
"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
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A lifelong love of animals combined with a jeweler's eye for multifaceted philosophical meanings provide Peterson (Living by Water) with a wealth of fascinating anecdotes and insights in this engaging memoir. Moving easily back and forth in time and space--from the Florida Keys and Rocky Mountains to the great Northwest and the canyons of New York City--Peterson defines her self, her joys and losses in part through the domestic and wild animals she meets and loves. The yarns about her own dogs and cats are no less intriguing than those about dolphins, wolves, bears and whales. In this easygoing narrative, Peterson also recounts experiences with other people at the nexus of their mutual interest in animals, including such mysterious moments as her encounter with a Navaho woman who, as if fulfilling a prophecy, presents the author with a power-laden necklace of wolves' teeth. Peterson's description of her mother's very different, more mundane attitude about the place of animals in the scale of things is affectionate, warm and humorous. The book is strongest in its clear portraits, which linger in the reader's mind. Its weakest aspect is the author's tendency to analyze and interpret her experiences in terms of syncretistic New Age truisms. Yet the latter is easily forgiven in this powerful vision about the essential importance of animals in the lives of human beings.
