Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

Terry Tempest Williams

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 1991

Access Library

Book Brief

Beta

Terry Tempest Williams

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 1991

Book Details

Pages

314

Format

Biography • Nonfiction

Setting

Utah • 1980s

Publication Year

1991

Audience

Adult

Super Short Summary

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams interweaves the Utah landscape and avian life with personal narratives of her mother's battle with cancer. The work explores themes of family, illness, and the natural world, highlighting the interconnectedness of personal and environmental histories.

Reviews & Readership

Review Roundup

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams offers a poignant blend of personal narrative and environmental reflection. Praise highlights its lyrical prose and deep emotional impact, though some critique it for a lack of narrative focus. Overall, it’s a compelling meditation on family, grief, and nature.

Who Should Read Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place?

The ideal reader for Terry Tempest Williams's Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place appreciates environmental literature and memoirs focusing on personal and ecological resilience. Similar readers might enjoy Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac.

Fun Facts

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place intertwines themes of personal loss and environmental change, reflecting on the Great Salt Lake and its impact on bird populations as well as the author's family.

The book's structure mirrors a nesting pattern found in nature, with refuge chapters alternating between family, representing both a physical and emotional sanctuary.

Subscribe to discover more Fun Facts!

Terry Tempest Williams draws on her background as a naturalist and environmentalist to explore broader themes of ecological and personal resilience, giving the narrative a unique blend of memoir and natural history.