A New York Times Best Seller Barnes & Noble 2020 Book of the Year A Kirkus Prize Finalist for Nonfiction A Southern Book Prize Finalist An Npr Best Book of 2020 An Esquire Best Book of 2020 A BookPage Best Book of 2020 A New York Public Library Best Book of 2020 A Wall Street Journal Holiday Gift Pick for 2020 An Indie Next Pick, September 2019 A Publishers Weekly "Big Indie Book of Fall 2020" A BuzzFeed Best Book of Fall 2020 A Literary Hub "Most Anticipated Book of 2020 A Ralph Lauren Summer Reading Recommendation A Garden & Gun Summer Reading Recommendation A Bustle "Best Book of Fall 2020 Named a "Most Anticipated Book of 2020" by The Millions An Alma "Favorite Book for Fall 2020" A Literary Hub "Recommended Climate Read for September 2020" A Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Reading Recommendation for Fall 2020 From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction-a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us. As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted-no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape-she was able to turn to our world's fierce and funny creatures for guidance.