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Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World
In this vulnerable and urgent memoir, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant explores the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and the earth through her personal journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist. Growing up in the diverse and bustling California Bay Area, renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant always felt worlds away from the white male adventurers she watched explore the wilderness on TV. She dreamed of a future where she could spend sleepless nights under the crowded canopies of the Amazon and the starry skies of the savanna. But as Rae set off on her own journey in the wild, finding her way in a profession where there were few scientists who looked like her, she saw nature’s delicate balance in a new light. In her quest to study the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and place, Rae has realized the vital roles we each play not just as stewards for our land and water, but also for our communities, each other, and ourselves. Wild Life follows Rae from her urban childhood in California and Virginia, to her adventures and explorations in some of the world’s most rugged and remote locales. Hers is a story about a career in the wild spanning nearly two decades, carving a niche for herself as one of very few Black female scientists, and the challenges she has had to overcome, expectations she has had to leave behind, and the many lessons she has learned along the way. Through her personal story of resilience and adaptation, Rae argues for a more connected, more socially and ecologically conscious world. An incredible journey spanning the Great Plains of North America to the rainforests of Madagascar, Wild Life sheds light on our pivotal relationship and responsibility to the natural world and the relatives—both human and otherwise—that we share it with.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 13, 2024
When the author was growing up she always wanted her career to be as a host of a wild animal show.
She studied hard and went to the highest level she could to make her dream come true.
She became a large carnivore ecologist and science communicator. She work for a long time with bears in Montana, where she studied the human impact on the bears.
Lions in Africa, and also many other projects that sent her to different parts of the world.
She worked hard and and finally reached her goal .
This book is also how she managed marriage, children, and still be able to have the ability to work at what she loves. Also this was about her, and her feelings about racism, as she grew up in the United States, where she didn't see many Black people in her field of work, and other areas.
I loved her field stories, they were fun, she is a good story teller and made me want to keep reading about her adventures.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Zando Projects for a copy of this book
She studied hard and went to the highest level she could to make her dream come true.
She became a large carnivore ecologist and science communicator. She work for a long time with bears in Montana, where she studied the human impact on the bears.
Lions in Africa, and also many other projects that sent her to different parts of the world.
She worked hard and and finally reached her goal .
This book is also how she managed marriage, children, and still be able to have the ability to work at what she loves. Also this was about her, and her feelings about racism, as she grew up in the United States, where she didn't see many Black people in her field of work, and other areas.
I loved her field stories, they were fun, she is a good story teller and made me want to keep reading about her adventures.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Zando Projects for a copy of this book
January 1, 2024
A little more than a year ago my kids and I saw a presentation given by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant while on an educational trip to Disney World. We’ve listened to her podcasts, watched her Crash Course Zoology videos, and are currently watching her host Wild Kingdom. My daughter will have to wait until she’s a bit older to read this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the stories were familiar, though in more detail, to her stories in her podcast. As I was reading the book I could imagine she was actually speaking the words, so I do hope she plans to narrate her audiobook. I do also hope that someday she will write children’s books about the animals that she has encountered in the wild. Thank you, Dr, Rae Wynn-Grant for putting your struggles and your triumphs out there for the world to read, you’re an inspiration to others.
Thank you NetGalley and Zando for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
Thank you NetGalley and Zando for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
April 24, 2024
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a wildlife ecologist is the co-host to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. This is the one job which she wanted since she was a little girl. She says this about her position as a wildlife ecologist:
I’ve built a career for myself in a space dominated by older white men and charted my own path in a society riddled with ill-fitting expectations. These lessons have inspired my thoughts and activism not only on conservation and climate, but also on race and identity. Animals and ecosystems have a lot to teach us about mutual respect and the importance of caring for one another in mutually beneficial ways.
I found her story quite interesting and while I was interested in her career path, I also appreciated that she was quite honest about the missteps she made in her personal life.
I've fallen down a rabbit hole this year reading about individuals who work with animals and it has been interesting to compare and contrast them. For anyone interested in going down this rabbit hole the books were Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo and Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet.
I recommend this book to those interested in animals and for those interested in this career path.
I’ve built a career for myself in a space dominated by older white men and charted my own path in a society riddled with ill-fitting expectations. These lessons have inspired my thoughts and activism not only on conservation and climate, but also on race and identity. Animals and ecosystems have a lot to teach us about mutual respect and the importance of caring for one another in mutually beneficial ways.
I found her story quite interesting and while I was interested in her career path, I also appreciated that she was quite honest about the missteps she made in her personal life.
I've fallen down a rabbit hole this year reading about individuals who work with animals and it has been interesting to compare and contrast them. For anyone interested in going down this rabbit hole the books were Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo and Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet.
I recommend this book to those interested in animals and for those interested in this career path.
April 20, 2024
I pulled this book from the library strictly from the title alone, not knowing anything about Dr. Wynn-Grant. This was a great memoir of a woman chasing her childhood dream to host her own "nature show." She eloquently and directly shares her struggles of being often the only woman and Black woman in a white male driven field and how she's navigated her career and family life. This was a great read.
May 7, 2024
I love this woman. I love this woman. I love learning from this woman. Just… I love this remarkable woman.
February 8, 2024
*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*
"Wild Life" is a great memoir about finding one's place in life and pursuing one's passions. It's also a book about a Black woman experiencing racism in the States but also struggling with Black people in various African countries that Wynn-Grant travelled to for her research. It's also about career versus relationship, motherhood, family.
I frankly might've enjoyed more science in this one but I'm weird...
3.5 stars
"Wild Life" is a great memoir about finding one's place in life and pursuing one's passions. It's also a book about a Black woman experiencing racism in the States but also struggling with Black people in various African countries that Wynn-Grant travelled to for her research. It's also about career versus relationship, motherhood, family.
I frankly might've enjoyed more science in this one but I'm weird...
3.5 stars
May 7, 2024
I loved Dr. Rae Wynn Grant’s memoir! I had the honor of taking a seminar she taught on decolonizing conservation in grad school. I heard bits and pieces about her time abroad in the class and in her podcast (highly recommend), and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her life and work experiences through this book. I really appreciated how open she was in sharing her feelings, failings, and learnings — she didn’t shy away from the rocky road to success, following her dreams no matter what. This book was gripping, an inspiration to a young professional!
April 14, 2024
It’s always hard to rate memoirs: this three star rating is not a rating of the author’s life or work (both of which are amazing). I had a hard time getting into this and kept putting it down and picking it up again—not because the story wasn’t interesting (it was!) but purely because I found the writing hard to lose myself in. It was written like it was intended as a script for a talk on stage in front of people and that didn’t really work for me. I’m sure it’ll work for others, though, and I’d still recommend this one.
Dr. Wynn-Grant has a great story, and I enjoyed following her on her adventures and as she made tough choices in her life. I’d love to see her speak live some time; I’m sure it’d be fantastic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando!
Dr. Wynn-Grant has a great story, and I enjoyed following her on her adventures and as she made tough choices in her life. I’d love to see her speak live some time; I’m sure it’d be fantastic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando!
April 25, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Perhaps a little heavy on the personal vs. the science field in the second half, but I still enjoyed it.
May 3, 2024
The story of a black woman’s journey navigating personal life challenges and racism on her journey to becoming a pre-eminent wildlife ecologist and co-host of the current version of Mutual Of Omahas Wild Kingdom. Fascinating to see how she managed to achieve my unfollowed childhood dream.
February 4, 2024
Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World. Wild Life. The prologue begins with a hair-raising cry. A bear sighting!
As a child growing up in the Bay Area in California, Rae Wynn-Grant was seldom allowed to watch television. However, her father loved his Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls. She and her brother were only allowed to watch educational programs, and Rae fell in love with nature shows and vowed that one day she would be a host of a show who told people all about animals. In In her memoir, her memoir, Wild Life . Rae Wynn-Grant recounts the ups and downs of her quest to reach that goal and to find her place in the world.
When she was in middle school, the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, which was a culture shock to the children. In California, they’d been accepted; in Norfolk, they had their first experiences with racial inequities. This affected Rae’s schoolwork, and much to her chagrin, Rae did poorly at math and science courses. How would she ever pursue a career in biology? She turned to music instead. However, because she knew this would never be her life’s work, she determinedly graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, then went on to Yale to earn a Masters. She didn’t stop there, earning a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She describes the rugged, nitty-gritty details of her assorted field studies. She traveled to destinations including Kenya, Tanzania, Nevada, and Minnesota. She tracked and documented activity of bears, and lemurs; she observed giraffes and all sorts of wildlife in East and West Africa.
None of this came without personal cost. With incredible honesty, Wynn-Grant tells of the impact some people had on her life– her parents, her husband, close mentors, friends, and lovers. She does not hold back about past mistakes and how she’s grown. Her extensive travel, which she loved, took its toll on relationships, and on her. She lays it out there, and she’s a whole, fully alive human being. She’s rightfully proud of what she’s accomplished as a female, Black ecologist.
There were several important takeaways and moments that touched me:
1) An ecologist manages relationships between humans and animals. For example, many people see bears as a nuisance. However, bears help manage the environment in ways we do not imagine. They spread seeds around, help with deer management, and help keep the forest fertile by breaking down logs to help them decompose.
2) Humans are part of the environment. When in Tanzania, a group of team members find a dead animal slain by poachers. She comes to realize that despite the horror of this death, there is benefit to the people of the village. The meat of this beautiful animal cannot be wasted; it will feed many people. She concludes that that the needs of the human community should be regarded before starting a conservation project.
3) Her therapy and experience with animal observation led her to conclude that when it comes to fight or flight, one is not better than the other.
Lastly, there was an event that touched me perhaps more than any other. It helps that it occurred in my home state of Minnesota. No spoiler. I’ll simply say this: It was AWE-some!
If you love animals, if you love science, if you love humanity, if you love equality, if you love adventure, you will love Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World Thank you, Dr. Rae, Wynn-Grant for sharing your story.
I received a digital copy in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks also to NetGalley and to Get Lifted Books.
5 stars
As a child growing up in the Bay Area in California, Rae Wynn-Grant was seldom allowed to watch television. However, her father loved his Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls. She and her brother were only allowed to watch educational programs, and Rae fell in love with nature shows and vowed that one day she would be a host of a show who told people all about animals. In In her memoir, her memoir, Wild Life . Rae Wynn-Grant recounts the ups and downs of her quest to reach that goal and to find her place in the world.
When she was in middle school, the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, which was a culture shock to the children. In California, they’d been accepted; in Norfolk, they had their first experiences with racial inequities. This affected Rae’s schoolwork, and much to her chagrin, Rae did poorly at math and science courses. How would she ever pursue a career in biology? She turned to music instead. However, because she knew this would never be her life’s work, she determinedly graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, then went on to Yale to earn a Masters. She didn’t stop there, earning a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She describes the rugged, nitty-gritty details of her assorted field studies. She traveled to destinations including Kenya, Tanzania, Nevada, and Minnesota. She tracked and documented activity of bears, and lemurs; she observed giraffes and all sorts of wildlife in East and West Africa.
None of this came without personal cost. With incredible honesty, Wynn-Grant tells of the impact some people had on her life– her parents, her husband, close mentors, friends, and lovers. She does not hold back about past mistakes and how she’s grown. Her extensive travel, which she loved, took its toll on relationships, and on her. She lays it out there, and she’s a whole, fully alive human being. She’s rightfully proud of what she’s accomplished as a female, Black ecologist.
There were several important takeaways and moments that touched me:
1) An ecologist manages relationships between humans and animals. For example, many people see bears as a nuisance. However, bears help manage the environment in ways we do not imagine. They spread seeds around, help with deer management, and help keep the forest fertile by breaking down logs to help them decompose.
2) Humans are part of the environment. When in Tanzania, a group of team members find a dead animal slain by poachers. She comes to realize that despite the horror of this death, there is benefit to the people of the village. The meat of this beautiful animal cannot be wasted; it will feed many people. She concludes that that the needs of the human community should be regarded before starting a conservation project.
3) Her therapy and experience with animal observation led her to conclude that when it comes to fight or flight, one is not better than the other.
Lastly, there was an event that touched me perhaps more than any other. It helps that it occurred in my home state of Minnesota. No spoiler. I’ll simply say this: It was AWE-some!
If you love animals, if you love science, if you love humanity, if you love equality, if you love adventure, you will love Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World Thank you, Dr. Rae, Wynn-Grant for sharing your story.
I received a digital copy in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks also to NetGalley and to Get Lifted Books.
5 stars
February 20, 2024
Wild Life is (I think) my first book, memoir or otherwise, about wildlife conservation efforts. Rae Wynn-Grant is a Black woman who studies wild animal behavior as a way to improve and protect the safety and relationships between wild animals and humans. If you’re new to this topic like me, here’s a simplified example: lions in Africa, which historically coexisted peacefully with humans, have attacked and killed humans as their habitat is encroached upon. Humans have retaliated by killing lions. Rae studied those lions to see if she can predict lion behavior as a way to save both humans and lions.
Rae’s Blackness is relevant. She is an ‘only’ in this field. It’s relevant in the US and it’s even more relevant in her work in Africa, where the Africans she encounters have never met a Black American. While this book is very much about her professional experiences, Rae unpacks her racial and cultural experiences alongside her professional ones.
I really enjoyed this book and learning about this topic. It was easy, quick reading and is relatively short. This ARC felt poorly edited, with some sections not smoothly transitioning to others. In particular., the more emotionally poignant experiences with Black Lives Matter and the deterioration of Rae’s marriage felt like abrupt changes of subject. The writing was still good, just not cohesive. When I see this in ARC, I’m always curious how the final version will be. Nonetheless, definitely recommend this unique and enjoyable memoir!
Rae’s Blackness is relevant. She is an ‘only’ in this field. It’s relevant in the US and it’s even more relevant in her work in Africa, where the Africans she encounters have never met a Black American. While this book is very much about her professional experiences, Rae unpacks her racial and cultural experiences alongside her professional ones.
I really enjoyed this book and learning about this topic. It was easy, quick reading and is relatively short. This ARC felt poorly edited, with some sections not smoothly transitioning to others. In particular., the more emotionally poignant experiences with Black Lives Matter and the deterioration of Rae’s marriage felt like abrupt changes of subject. The writing was still good, just not cohesive. When I see this in ARC, I’m always curious how the final version will be. Nonetheless, definitely recommend this unique and enjoyable memoir!
March 7, 2024
In her memoir, Wild Life, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant shares her story of chasing her childhood dream of becoming a "nature show host". She does a great job telling us of her adventures and her struggles as a young Black woman in the science field dominated by white males, as she navigates her education and career development becoming a Wildlife Ecologist. Her adventures tracking and researching black bears and other large carnivores throughout the world were fascinating and amazing, and made for great reading.
She is also upfront about the injustices she faced in the science field due to being a Black woman. This part of the storyline blends so well with the science of Ecology and the way ecosystems either thrive or struggle. She sums it up beautifully when she says, " Each of the ecosystems I inhabited reminded me that we all exist in a web of interdependence, navigating the dissonance that is beautifully inherent in the natural world."
I had not heard of Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant prior to reading this book. When I finished, I was eager to research more about her, and landed on some of her videos from National Geographic and Wild Kingdom. She has great knowledge and insight to share. I certainly admire her.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an Advance Copy!
She is also upfront about the injustices she faced in the science field due to being a Black woman. This part of the storyline blends so well with the science of Ecology and the way ecosystems either thrive or struggle. She sums it up beautifully when she says, " Each of the ecosystems I inhabited reminded me that we all exist in a web of interdependence, navigating the dissonance that is beautifully inherent in the natural world."
I had not heard of Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant prior to reading this book. When I finished, I was eager to research more about her, and landed on some of her videos from National Geographic and Wild Kingdom. She has great knowledge and insight to share. I certainly admire her.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an Advance Copy!
April 28, 2024
It’s never fun to rate a down-rate a memoir, b/c it seems like you’re judging the person or their life, which this is not - her accomplishments and life’s work are wonderful. But this is a site about books, and this is a judgment about the writing of this memoir. And this book didn’t really work for me; sometimes it read as just too cheesy, and sometimes it read as so basic. Mainly, it always makes me nervous when someone in the world of science, especially someone who is building their career around a claim that they’re a science-communication expert, actually dumbs down things in a way that becomes inaccuracy by omission. For example, No, survival instincts in the animal kingdom aren’t just “flight-or-fight.” And by stating something so basically and blatantly inaccurate, not just once + using it as a metaphor for your personal behavior - you’ve committed a cardinal sin in the world of science writing - you’ve lost my trust … *and* you’ve got my eyes rolling so hard!
May 17, 2024
I first learned of Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant when she appeared on CBS Mornings a few weeks ago to discuss this book. Intrigued by the conversation, I decided this would be a great selection for the GoodReads 2024 Challenge Prompt, related to the word, "Wild". I enjoyed her story about chasing her childhood dream of becoming a nature show host. She does a great job of weaving together her personal story and her research journey sharing her adventures and her struggles as a young Black woman in a science field dominated by white males. She shares her personal growth and development with honesty and integrity in an accessible and compelling manner. Her adventures tracking and researching black bears and other large carnivores throughout the world were fascinating and left me with much to think about regarding natural wildlife, endangered species and becoming more ecologically conscious.
January 24, 2024
This book was a compelling read in that Dr. Wynn-Grant has strong storytelling skills. It's an honest look at her struggles and her triumphs personally and professionally. I think it is helpful to have narratives like this, particularly when it comes to discussions of the intersections of race, social justice, education and employment, and motherhood. That's a lot to hold, and Dr. Wynn-Grant speaks about what that all looks like in her life. She also gets into some of the specifics of her career path. I found that very interesting and I think she probably could write a whole book about career paths in her field could be improved.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.
February 28, 2024
I received a free e-ARC from NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this autobiography by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Her upbringing did not involve much time in nature, but even from a young age she knew she wanted to be a wildlife ecologist and host a nature show. There were (and still are) very few Black women in field ecology and her journey, both personal and professional, was very interesting and moving. And I love that she has done work with numerous large carnivores, including black bears, lions, and grizzly bears.
Now I have to go find episodes of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
I really enjoyed this autobiography by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Her upbringing did not involve much time in nature, but even from a young age she knew she wanted to be a wildlife ecologist and host a nature show. There were (and still are) very few Black women in field ecology and her journey, both personal and professional, was very interesting and moving. And I love that she has done work with numerous large carnivores, including black bears, lions, and grizzly bears.
Now I have to go find episodes of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
April 3, 2024
Rae brings us along her journey to follow her dream as a young girl. She highlights how important our relationship with nature and animals and our earths ecosystem is and how it is our responsibility to safeguard it. I enjoy reading others memoirs it gives us a peek into what other people are doing with their lives and I always feel I learn from them and there is always something to take away from them. If your interested in our planet, nature or animals I believe you will enjoy this book thank you netgalley
March 20, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This was really interesting! A city-raised young black woman going into wildlife ecology, sharing her struggles and her successes. She definitely made a few choices I would not have made, but this book will be great for encouraging people who might not go into science, especially sciences where lots of field work is necessary.
This was really interesting! A city-raised young black woman going into wildlife ecology, sharing her struggles and her successes. She definitely made a few choices I would not have made, but this book will be great for encouraging people who might not go into science, especially sciences where lots of field work is necessary.
December 20, 2023
An interesting read an account of a wildlife ecologist, the pressures and challenges she faced in her career. I really loved the field trip stories. Enjoyed the read. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.
April 16, 2024
Interesting memoir, I thought the ecosystem/social justice comparisons were very interesting. I liked hearing about the career trajectory; but, I wish there was a bit more about the science aspect and professional pursuits.
April 20, 2024
Such an honest account of the human side of working with animals. I truly appreciated Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant’s raw candor. So often working in the conservation community can be sugar coated and this was the first time I’ve read something that felt real and beautiful and powerful.
April 29, 2024
Outstanding! The audiobook was easy to listen to and made my long drive go by quickly. I’ve downloaded her podcast and can’t wait to listen to her interviews with other scientists from marginalized groups!!!
May 7, 2024
Solid memoir. But it lacked deep dives into the field work, and I felt the author missed a real opportunity to share that experience. It was the reason I picked the book up in the first place, so very disappointing.
May 10, 2024
This was a hard read for me, but it was because of all the animal deaths. I really loved how honest and raw she was with her storytelling. My favorite part was where they went into the rainforest to study the lemurs. This was such a good read! I recommend it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2024
Wel written memoir by a renowned conservationist and ecologist. I loved the vibe throughout. Would recommend it. Thanks so much for the arc!
Want to read
January 18, 2024Netgalley
pub date April 2, 2024
Zando Books
pub date April 2, 2024
Zando Books
April 5, 2024
Wonderful and refreshing memoir!
April 8, 2024
Most interesting memoir of a fascinating life. Her journey was filled with adventure beyond her expectations but she fulfilled her dreams while discovering who she is and staying true to herself.
April 8, 2024
3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews