Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals

By Brenda Peterson, Deena Metzger, Linda Hogan, et al.

Book Overview

"This remarkable group of women have narrated their personal experiences with animals--what they have learned and how it has transformed their lives."-- Common Boundary "A celebration of compassion . . . Women are opening new ways of communicating with and understanding the animal world."-- The Seattle Times Though women have long felt kinship with animals, in the past they seldom participated in the study of them. Now, as more women make animals the subject of their investigations, significant new ideas are emerging--based on the premise that animals are honored co-sharers of the earth. This unprecedented anthology features original stories, essays, meditations, and poems by a vast array of women nature writers and field scientists, including: Diane Ackerman - Virginia Coyle - Gretel Ehrlich - Dian Fossey - Tess Gallagher - Jane Goodall - Temple Grandin - Susan Griffin - Joy Harjo - Barbara Kingsolver - Ursula le Guin - Denise Levertov - Linda McCarriston - Susan Chernak McElroy - Rigoberta Mench - Cynthia Moss - Katherine Payne - Marge Piercy - Pattiann Rogers - Linda Tellington-Jones - Haunani-Kay Trask - Gillian Van Houten - Terry Tempest Williams

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449003000
• ISBN13: 9780449003008
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The compassionate connection between women and animals

A beautiful, moving anthology of stories about the bond between humans (in this book, specifically female) and animals. I especially loved the story of Isabel the cat and what her human companion learned from her about play and healing. I recently found an interview on this site with the author of the story, Brenda Peterson (who is also a co-editor of Intimate Nature). To find the interview, go to Browse Subjects, then Non-fiction, then Non-fiction by Subject, then Women's Studies. Look down the page until you find "What Animals Can Teach Us." Then "read more..." about Intimate Nature!

Explores a connection surpassed only by motherhood...

As a scientist studying wolves, as the owner of several pets, as someone who loves nature and wildlife, and as a woman...this book spoke to me. It offers a vivid reminder of the very unique, emotional and primal bond that women share with animals. Narratives, interspersed with poetry, are organized loosley into several sections, focusing on diverse aspects of this bond. In one section, women who had made this communality part of their careers- studying animals in the field- share their insights as to how their work and their lives have been affected by what they study. Other sections explore the more common bond between womenand their pets, or the wildlife they find around them, and how this supplements and supports the lives they have created for themselves. The book has all the hallmarks of an epic work of fiction- humor, love, tragedy, revelation, loss- and yet never for a moment do you forget that these are real women speaking. Intimate Nature is not only about the unique bond between women and animals, but the bond we share as women as well.