Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell
New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery turns her journalistic curiosity to the wonder and wisdom of our long-lived cohabitants – turtles – and through their stories of hope and rescue, reveals to us astonishing new perspectives on time and healing.
When acclaimed naturalist Sy Montgomery and wildlife artist Matt Patterson arrive at Turtle Rescue League, they are greeted by hundreds of turtles recovering from injury and illness. Endangered by cars and highways, pollution and poachers, these turtles – with wounds so severe that even veterinarians would have dismissed them as fatal – are given a second chance at life. The League’s founders, Natasha and Alexxia, live by one motto: Never give up on a turtle.
But why turtles? What is it about them that inspires such devotion? Ancient and unhurried, long-lived and majestic, their lineage stretches back to the time of the dinosaurs. Some live to two hundred years, or longer. Others spend months buried under cold winter water. Montgomery turns to these little understood yet endlessly surprising creatures to probe the eternal question: How can we make peace with our time?
In pursuit of the answer, Sy and Matt immerse themselves in the delicate work of protecting turtle nests, incubating eggs, rescuing sea turtles, and releasing hatchlings to their homes in the wild. We follow the snapping turtle Fire Chief on his astonishing journey as he battles against injuries incurred by a truck.
Hopeful and optimistic, Of Time and Turtles is an antidote to the instability of our frenzied world. Elegantly blending science, memoir, and philosophy, and drawing on cultures from across the globe, this compassionate portrait of injured turtles and their determined rescuers invites us all to slow down and slip into turtle time.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * AMAZON EDITOR’S PICK and BEST BOOK OF 2023 * SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF 2023 * WASHINGTON POST'S BEST NONFICTION OF 2023 *NEW SCIENTIST BEST BOOK OF 2023 -
‘Enchanting. Few writers are better than Montgomery at capturing the wonder of animals without taming them. Like all of Montgomery’s work Of Time and Turtles is a book that will make you want to be not a better human but a better animal’ Washington Post -
‘Montgomery's heart-tugging conversations with teammates and her commitment to helping an octogenarian named Fire Chief reveal turtles to be perfect conduits for meditations on aging, disability and chosen family’ Scientific American -
‘Of Time and Turtles is very much of a piece with Montgomery's beatific The Soul of an Octopus in its assertion that listening to another species – and using what you learn – is good not just for those creatures but for everyone. A beautiful book – you'll want to savor it (slowly)’ Minneapolis Star Tribune -
‘In this moving outing, Montgomery captures the joy in the team’s successes and the sorrow in their losses and Patterson’s sketches of spotted and painted turtles in their natural habitats delight. An enjoyable account of the everyday travails of dedicated conservationists’ Publishers Weekly -
‘Writing from the height of her powers, Sy Montgomery shows us in magnificent and essential ways how much we are connected, even with the most unlikely of animals’ Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments -
‘Chronic underestimation is all we seem to bestow on reptiles, especially the slow kind. But as Sy Montgomery makes clear, an animal doesn’t need to be fast to fascinating’ Frans de Waal, author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? -