Nature Literature discussion

Please add your comments about Stranded: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times to this thread.

I just downloaded this as an eBook. I’ve been a long-time follower of this group, but this is my first time buying a book to participate. I’m excited to join in!

My favorite chapter is about the coyotes! I loved how the panic in the neighborhood just made Maddalena curious to learn more, and how she used Nextdoor warnings to try to track them down.

I also so appreciated that as someone who feels passionately about the wellbeing of ALL animals, that she found a way to appreciate the ingenuity and adaptation of both introduced and native species. Sometimes people passionate about native plants and animals start to get really mean to the organisms humans have introduced that are invading those spaces, and I thought her respect for all life while also having a clear scientific understanding of the impacts of invasives was refreshing.

The deep empathy she has for nonhuman creatures as enacted through the act of witnessing them, seeing them just as they are, with their own form of equally fascinating intelligence, was marvelous. It reminded me of when I realized one of my cats wasn't just be annoying when she yelled at me at night. Finally I realized, she has noticed that her sister is outside when she should be inside, and she wants me to go get her. She was always smart and communicative, I was just obtuse!

I think scientists and environmentalists should read this to recognize you don't have to hit people over the head with numbers -- scientists can also be passionate, empathetic, and through their knowledge can offer a path out of frozen inaction towards collective change. And a lot of that starts with just looking at the immense world that's immediately around us.