Going Feral: A Memoir by Heather Durham
Heather Durham's nature memoir in essays is an examination of a life of wandering in wild nature. With the scientific knowledge and observation skills of an ecologist and the existential inquiry of a philosopher, Heather immerses readers with all their senses in adventures, wanderings, and musings in wild places around the United States. She faces solitude on a deserted island in Maine, spelunks in bat caves in New Hampshire, chases herons on the Florida Gulf coast, and hides out with flamingos in urban Utah. She locks eyes with a cougar in Colorado, traps and bands hawks in Nevada, surveys owls in Oregon, and communes with coyotes in Washington.
As a nomadic and often reclusive introvert, Heather grapples with discomfort among her own kind and resists traditional paths to fulfillment. It is ultimately her intimate bond with the natural world wherever she roams that offers meaning, solace, and a sense of belonging both within and apart from human communities. Part reverential nature writing, part soul-searching memoir, Going Feral is the story of a human animal learning to belong to the earth.
As a nomadic and often reclusive introvert, Heather grapples with discomfort among her own kind and resists traditional paths to fulfillment. It is ultimately her intimate bond with the natural world wherever she roams that offers meaning, solace, and a sense of belonging both within and apart from human communities. Part reverential nature writing, part soul-searching memoir, Going Feral is the story of a human animal learning to belong to the earth.
Heather Durham is a naturalist and contemplative writer who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science in Ecology from Antioch New England University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. She's held a variety of nature-focused jobs around the country from interpretive park ranger to field biologist, trails worker to restoration ecologist. She currently works behind the scenes at Wilderness Awareness School and facilitates programs in sensory awareness, nature journaling, and bird language. Part scientifically-informed nature writing, part soul-searching memoir, Going Feral is an exploration of wandering in wild nature and an Indie Book Awards finalist.