Description
In a series of short essays, author Steinauer-Scudder covers a variety of ecological topics centered around the theme of maternal love. As a new mother, she examines her transformed sensitivities as her daughter progressed from conception to current toddler dependence. She studies how offspring are nurtured by barn owls, right whales, even mother trees.
Her descriptions are wrapped in a lyrical prose that combines stories from mythology, along with current research as scientists attempt to bandage damaged landscapes and record the loss of species. Layered between the depressing details are lyrical selections about her nurturing bonding with her daughter, and the maternal attachments that other creatures display with their offspring.
She decries the loss of habitat that affect species lives in the example of Jordan’s overuse of water where a lake was eventually drained of water transforming arable land to desert, resulting in the obliteration of migratory bird stations as well as human despair.
So many examples of over fishing, whale predation, deforestation, and injury to the natural world are exposed, that the author hopes that for the sake and love of the children, that we all should act as mothers to this world and try to lessen the damage that is consuming the environment. Knowledgeable, emotional, lyrical, and filled with a mother’s love, the author tries to find a solution for our eroding planet.