Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World

by Rae Wynn-Grant

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.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Audiobook, Animals, Biography

269 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I obviously read the title of this book incorrectly. It clearly refers to the author's wild life, not her devotion to Wildlife. I wanted to read about her experiences with wild creatures in their natural habitat, She doesn't mention animals very often and a couple of incidents were distressing. She helped to butcher a giraffe that had been killed by poachers in Kenya. Then she dined on the meat. At that point, I lost respect for her personally. Later in the memoir she took part in a Minnesota expedition to study black bears. After disturbing their winter den, and retrieving two cubs the mother was tranquilized and almost died. How can a scientific quest excuse this kind of intrusive behavior? Most of the memoir is about Dr. Wynne-Grant's frequent epiphanies, insecurities, and how her life kept failing to bring satisfaction. Her academic achievements are impressive. Her dedication to animal welfare, not so much.

[Cari Ritzenthaler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I admire Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and her excellent science communication work on social media. I was surprised and delighted at how vulnerable Dr. Wynn-Grant was as she told her story. She did not sugar coat anything, and it showcases an intense passion for the wellbeing of nature and humans. Her writing was captivating, entertaining, and some how kept me wondering what would happen next every time I tried to set it down.

Through reading about her experiences, I also felt an immense sense of validation. As a woman in ecology, an early career scientist, and a battler of imposture syndrome, I found it powerful to read that someone I look up to once felt the same as I do. The part that stuck out to me the most is when Dr. Wynn-Grant talks about passing her dissertation defense. She mentioned wanted to be excited about it, but ultimately felt too burnt out to celebrate. As I unintentionally read this exactly a year after my own defense, as I still struggle to believe I am a PhD as well, it was freeing to know I wasn’t alone in feeling that way. When I picked up this book, I had no idea it would impact me this much. I recommend it to all aspiring, early career, and even late career, women in STEM.

[Wendelle]

""There is something to be said about having intact, thriving wildlife communities, even when this is inconvenient for humans. These animals help us save money, save resources, save time, and dwell in healthier spaces. We all live and cohabitate together, and parasitic relationships are doomed to fail.""
-Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
This is an incredible, immersive, educational book tracking the academic journey, difficult decisions, and explorations in conservation, from Kenya to Tanzania to Lake Tahoe in Nevada, of pioneering ecologist, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely enough I wanted more animals. This is really more about the author's personal journey to finding acceptance within herself as she struggles with class, race, gender, and the natural world. She explores how everything relates as she tells her own personal journey, including all the pitfalls there in. This is a straight forward account that admits to the author's own personal failings as she learned and grew from them.

Rae Wynn-Grant grew up wanting to be a host on a nature show. She wanted to be the one telling everyone about all of the animals, but growing up in the city in a middle class black household, nature wasn't really part of her daily life. And every person she saw hosting one of those shows was white and male. Not exactly an easy path to success. But with perseverance and a dogged determination to craft her own path Rae becomes extremely well respected in her field, having added much to the study of animals the world over. Ultimately that dedication will bring her to her dream as well.

I admire and respect the kind of work that the author has put in and it's impressive all that she has accomplished in her career. This introspective of her life is interesting and I appreciated how she was up front in her own failings, especially when it came to her relationships and personal life. I honestly would love to read another book by the author as I'd love to know more about her adventures with the animals specifically. This was much more focused on how those adventures shaped who she has become and enlightened her view of our interconnected world.

[Erin Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Leah Waller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book fell apart for me when she started talking about all the cheating she did. Didn’t enjoy it and don’t care. The book never comes back from that.

[Grace W. · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give it negative stars I would. I
Hated this read.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Mary Concannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard of Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant on the Ologies podcast (shoutout Alie Ward), where she talked about her career in wildlife ecology. I fell in love with her instantly - who wouldn’t fall in love with a woman holding tiny bear cubs with snow falling around her?? Her memoir made me even more obsessed. Reading how she went from the only Black woman in her undergrad program, feeling unsure of herself, to getting a full ride to Yale for a masters program, and her work to make outdoor spaces accessible for Black communities is so motivational, so inspiring, so real. Her experience as a Black woman in the field is so important, and it needs to be talked about - the representation is so necessary. I hope that a new generation of Black children are inspired to go into science because of Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and others like her (I’m lookin at you, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson!). Even if you aren’t into environmental science, this book is a great read.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Chispita Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 incredible woman but not a great writer. there were SO many sidebar pieces to the story that felt irrelevant and watered it down or detracted from the main themes and distracted from the main message. it was a very honest look at Rae’s life but also maybe too clear-eyed in that i wish it had been more sympathetic toward her and less hard on herself because i found i didn’t like her all that much by the end, in spite of everything she had learned, and been through, and accomplished

[Booknblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Willow Pingel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant on a YT video about bears and decided to read this! (Gonna have to listen to her episode of the Ologies podcast now, too). Interesting memoir about her experiences finding confidence as a black woman in STEM and balance in her life and career and self. Some good tidbits in here about the importance of the intersection of ecology and sociology. I can only imagine the turn her life and work might take now in 2025.

I really need to take CPR classes in case I ever need to revive a bear holy shit

[Leigh Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars

Mixed feelings on this one. The author has accomplished a lot in her career as a wildlife ecologist. I had issues with how devotion to her career was a priority over her two husbands and children.

She tends to brag a lot about her work excursions around the world but doesn’t seem to mind just leaving her working husband and kids behind while she is gone for months at a time.

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a work book club and I loved every second! I was a little hesitant with it being a memoir, but Dr. Rae’s story is incredibly inspiring as someone who wants to go into wildlife ecology. I appreciated how real she was about every aspect of her job and her life.

[John Jardin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this woman. I love this woman. I love learning from this woman. Just… I love this remarkable woman.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts of Wild Life dealing with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant’s struggle to make her way in a field that is dominated by white men were interesting. Her descriptions of her love of nature and reactions to encounters in the wild were educational. Her angsty inner thoughts about her self-esteem and her excuses for cheating on her husband and taking his daughter from New York to DC when he seemed like the more stable parent? Could have done without that. Also her explanations for why she made the very bad choice of her affair partner.

"There on the forest's edge, while a tropical rain pelted the tarp protecting my tent, two married people who were thousands of miles away from their spouses had delicious, explosive sex." (p. 189) TMI, really.

Also, at the end of the book she tells a shocking story about a mother bear suffocating during a research expedition. Some members of the team managed to revive the bear and they returned her to her den with her cubs and left. Wynn-Grant somehow weirdly uses this as a metaphor for her own experiences but doesn’t tell us if anyone followed up to make sure the bear (and the cubs) survived. It was a very very disturbing way to end her book.

There are readers other than me who may admire how honest and vulnerable Dr. Wynn-Grant is in this memoir. There may also be people struggling with glass ceilings in their own fields that may find it heartening. I’m not familiar with the author aside from this book; fans of her may also enjoy reading Wild Life.

3 stars feels pretty generous from me.

[Kelsey Baguinat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

>3, <4….
An interesting memoir, roller coaster ride of emotions for me. Previously unknown to me.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 4 out of 5]

*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

[Rrshively · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having a daughter who is a wildlife biology professor who teaches wildlife ecology, I felt some of Rae's story was a little strange. I think having it as an example of a successful African American woman overcoming barriers and self-doubt may be useful. However, I wondered why with all of her wildlife TV watching, she had never heard of Jane Goodall and other famous women wildlife biologists. Also, by the early 2000's, black students were entering all kinds of fields, and wildlife students were predominantly female. I understand that her family was somewhat naive about her entry into a university, but I wondered why her architect dad didn't help her with HS math when she found it difficult. It was also a fluke that her mentor suggested to her that she should major in wildlife ecology when she mentioned wanting to be a wildlife presenter on TV, but that was how she found her calling despite the fact he was a jerk. Also, underclassmen do have labs and, usually, field trips, so I was surprised she mentioned only lectures and book work. Also, when she found she didn't have the right information to apply for a PHD, it was surprising because that is part of the function of a master's level advisor. I did find her story interesting, but I felt it was a little off from what her experiences should have been. She really doesn't have much published research work, especially as lead author, but that is explained by her focus on presenting wildlife ecology to the public, especially as a wildlife TV host in more recent years.

[Avery Beckendorf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling memoir of an ambitious woman carving out a niche for herself in wildlife science. I enjoyed her unique POV but also wondered if she should’ve waited a few more decades to write this so that poor relationship decisions made in her 20s/30s wouldn’t have looked so large or seemed so formative to her career arc. But then again, it’s a memoir, so personal drama is kind of expected.

[Ange Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Although I expected to enjoy this book, I did not expect it to be as good as it was. I found myself completely immersed in her journey rooting for her the entire way and excited and anxious to hear the twists and turns of her life and adventures. I don’t normally read biography/memoirs but can’t recommend this enough.

[Abby Albright · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Perhaps one of the most surprising results of exploration is that it makes you appreciate home.”

•••

Meh! Nothing “bad” per se, but most of Dr. Wynn-Grant’s revelations felt a little non-revolutionary. Couple of very cool experiences in the field though.

[Susan Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Perhaps a little heavy on the personal vs. the science field in the second half, but I still enjoyed it.

[Nancy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating life, love memoirs ! I listened to the audio book which is narrated by the author 👍

[Victoria Godi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As another scientist, I could relate to this book a lot from that point of view. It was great to read about how she navigated her identity, career, goals, and motherhood. Good read overall.

[Litsplaining]

Enjoyed the adventuring parts. But, not sure it passed the Bechdel Test.

Did we really need to see Wynn-Grant spend so much time pining over a colleague and stressing over scratching that particular itch? The fact that the main focus of Dr. Wynn-Grant's book was sold to readers as a means to getting to learn about her adventures and becoming specialized to care for wildlife in global spaces we don't get to see Black women venture, made me disappointed with the memoir. This book mainly felt as if it was an account of the disintegration of the author's marriage and sexcapades with a colleague.

And, hey, get it how you live it, girl. But, this book had the potential to be so much! And what's even crazier, is the book ends in a rushed, garbled mess and after so much angst, the book climaxes in a matter of pages. I wagon whiplash with the way that the book goes from aa divorce to Dr. Wynn-Grant reaching the pinnacle of her career and going into what I presume to be her happily ever after/second marriage and reading that the Obama Administration and the tv show she's always wanted has finally come a knocking to give her the opportunity of a lifetime.

In short, I'm happy the author got her happy ending, but this book's timeline felt rushed and lopsided. I hope Dr. Wynn-Grant writes a follow up one day with more details about her adventures.