Refuge
An Unnatural History of Family and Place
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · September 1, 1992
In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer.
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- Who it’s for
- A lyrical intertwining of family grief, rising waters, and the long shadow of atomic testing.
- Themes
- Family illness and loss, Environmental change, Nuclear fallout
- Genres
- Naturalists' Lives, Personal Memoirs, Conservation
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Start with this bookAbout this book
In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by.
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One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, Refuge transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace, resulting in a work that has become a classic.
Nature and Loss
A lyrical intertwining of family grief, rising waters, and the long shadow of atomic testing.
Come here for
- Nature writing attentive to birds, place, and change
- A sustained meditation on grief and accommodation
Expect
- Personal and environmental loss held in the same frame
- Renewal and spiritual grace without easy answers
Where it sits
| Naturalists' Lives | 57% |
|---|---|
| Conservation | 55% |
| Personal Memoirs | 37% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Naturalists' Lives
- Cancer
- Nature Writing
- Authors
- Terry Tempest Williams
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- September 1, 1992
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Family illness and loss · Environmental change · Nuclear fallout
- Reading lane
- Naturalists' Lives