Where We Call Home - by Josephine Woolington (Paperback)

About the Book

"This collection of essays explores the Indigenous plant and animal life that color the Pacific Northwest's once-bountiful habitats and reconsiders what it means to be stewards of this land. In her debut work, Josephine Woolington sheds light upon the diverse species slowly disappearing from the PNW's land, seas, and skies to reveal that our impact on the earth is deeper and far more subtle than we ever imagined. Through interviews with local educators, Indigenous peoples, and government specialists, we are invited to de-center our human perspective in favor of a more organic approach. From gray whales to the Western bumblebee; from the Hoh Rainforest to the Cascades National Park; from the Alaska yellow cedar to the camas, these anecdotes re-imagine what it means to live mindfully among a colorful region of spoils. By bridging the gaps between our entrenched colonial histories and Indigenous perspectives with gentle reverence, Woolington winds back the clock to review the events that have endangered Pacific Northwest wildlife, and imagine how these effects might be undone. Only in understanding the Pacific Northwest's rich history can a society-further removed from the land in which it benefits from and the peoples this land belongs to-learn to live intentionally and harmoniously among nature. This collection of stories knits together both Western and Native perspectives to show us how we all may benefit from a changed approach to land management"--

Book Synopsis

Reconnect with the natural world through essays that blend science and prose. In her debut work, Josephine Woolington turns back the clock to review the events that have challenged Pacific Northwest wildlife in an effort to provide a deeper sense of place. Only then can we imagine how these imperious effects might be overcome.

Join Woolington as she sheds light on the diverse species whose populations are slowly declining from the lands, seas, and skies of the Pacific Northwest. Only by acknowledging this truth can we understand that our impact on the Earth is deeper and far more significant than we ever imagined. Through interviews with local educators, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and artists from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Haida Nation, the Yakama Nation, the Makah Tribe, and beyond, we are invited to decenter our singular perspective in favor of a more empathic, collective approach.

The flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest are resilient. As they adapt to a world far removed from its wonders, we must realize our own interconnectedness to nature and to one another. Woolington colors the rich history of the Pacific Northwest within the eye of its beholder so that society can learn to live intentionally in the land that sustains us all. From the coastal tailed frog to the sandhill crane, the yellow-cedar to the camas flower, these stories reimagine what it means to live mindfully in the colorful region we call home.

Review Quotes

Josephine Woolington's first book is part natural history and part human history, offering unique insights that shed light on the threats facing some of the Pacific Northwest's most iconic species. Its lyrical language and delightful descriptions illuminate scientific and Native American perspectives, providing context for understanding where people fit into the natural world.

--Todd McLeish, author of Saving Narragansett Bay and Return of the Sea Otter

Josephine Woolington leaves no stone unturned in these explorations of iconic Northwest lifeforms. She does not flinch in the face of degradation and future threats, she understands that tribal knowledge plays a crucial role in our larger story, and she offers a path forward based on meticulous attention. We should listen.

-- Jack Nisbet, author of >Sources of the River, The Collector, and Visible Bones

A deep dive into connections with the land and the life-forms that call the Pacific Northwest home. Fascinating. Sobering. Inspiring.

--Jane Billinghurst, co-author of Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America

In a series of beautiful essays on the foraging western bumble bee, the stunning sandhill crane, the long-lived yellow-cedar, and more, Where We Call Home takes us on a journey to explore the natural histories of ten native species in the Pacific Northwest. It is a powerful meditation on the past, present, and possible future of this land, its inhabitants, and our own relationship with nature.

--Lauren E. Oakes, author of In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World

Once she realizes that "it's radical to be rooted in a place," writer and educator Josephine Woolington embarks on a journey to learn about her home in the Northwest. Focusing on ten native species, she follows her journalist's curiosity, interweaving natural history with the cultural history she sets out consciously to learn. In her hands, what first looks like a random selection ranging from camas, sandhill cranes, and yellow-cedar to moss, bumble bees, and clouds becomes a window into the stories of the local tribes who've long stewarded their kin, the scientists who study them, and others who've learned how to pay attention. From an artist who attended to clouds in order to draw them to a whaling chief's moving account of how a gray whale hunt restored the Makah culture, her stories invite us to become as rooted, attentive, and respectful wherever we call home.

--Holly J. Hughes, author of Passings, a 2017 American Book Award winner

This book is about listening to the voices of plants, animals, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and artists to find and nourish something we all need: an enduring sense of place.

--Scott Freeman, author of Saving Tarboo Creek: One Family's Quest to Heal the Land

Written within the last couple of years, when many of us were feeling untethered--and reading it now, when we are suspecting we may never return to what we thought we knew, maybe not wanting to, seeking instead better ground--Where We Call Home is the reminder we need that nature doesn't let us down and, importantly, that we are of a place, and that matters. Full of delicate botanical and biological details and human stories trying to make sense of everything from camas to clouds, this collection of journalistic essays both connects and inspires. Whether our family has lived in the Pacific Northwest for generations or we just moved here, Josephine Woolington's writing gives voice to this land claiming us as one of its creatures, and in that embrace, may we feel a reciprocal protective urge. This place is special, and we are special to be a part of it.

-- Kristin Thiel, co-editor of Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene

Josephine Woolington is a model of a particular kind of curiosity that is at root a form of love--love for the plants and animals and geography that together make up the place she occupies. Where We Call Home is an invitation to pay attention to and become intimate with the world beyond the self. And it is a welcome addition to the literature of the Pacific Northwest.

--Scott F. Parker, author of A Way Home: Oregon Essays and Being on the Oregon Coast