My Double Life: Memoirs of a Naturalist

by Frances Hamerstrom, Elva Hamerstrom Paulson (Illustrator)

Looks at the life of a naturalist dedicated to studying and preserving the prairie chicken, from her childhood in a wealthy Boston family to her current expeditions

Genres: Memoir, Nature, Nonfiction, Birds

328 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1994

Reviews

[Tam G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vignette-style. Easy to read.

First third is naughty child stories. Frances (Flint) Hamerstrom came from a very wealthy North-eastern family. And she was a little wild.

The last two thirds are stories of crazy naturalist happenings. The kind of stories you tell at dinner parties. These center on prairie chickens and life in abandoned houses in central Wisconsin.

Worthwhile if you have an interest in memoir or ecology. Not a cohesive whole (thus the 3 stars) but light and fun.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. The first half is Fran Hamerstrom's wry account of her childhood. She's the rare kind of adult who hasn't forgotten what it's like to be a kid. The second half is her equally wry account of her life as a wildlife biologist studying the surprisingly fascinating prairie chicken in the wilds of central Wisconsin with her husband.

[Ryan Croke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute delight of a book. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I feel like she had so much more to tell! I also know way more about Wisconsin prairie chickens than I ever thought I would.

The first part of the book - her childhood - is the magical part of the book. A creative way to look at your own upbringing. It's a fun read.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the first few essays of this and had to return it - a compilation of essays by an amazing woman. Her style is sort of witty in an old fashioned kind of way.

[Auriel Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't get past the first quarter of the book. the series of stories of a young girl and the things she did just didn't hold my interest.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incidents, many humorous, from a well-lived though often trying life.

[Erin Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the astounding memoirs of Frances Hamerstrom, a pioneering conservationist before much of the techniques and terms we associate with conservation were even developed. In fact, she and her husband Frederick invented or discovered many of them. She was the only female graduate student of Aldo Leopold, who is featured in her memoirs, and a shining idol giving courage to any female biologists who want to walk that swampy and multiflora rose-thorned path. The first half of the book is filled with her recollections of childhood and adolescence. Her wealthy parents raised her to be an international hostess, first in the cities of Europe, then in America, and it's clear from the start that she was remarkably smart, self-possessed, and independent, and would not follow the path they laid in front of her. The essays are loosely strung together but logically show the metamorphosis from pampered toddler to gritty wildlife biologist studying prairie chickens in Wisconsin. Frances and her husband, and the people they worked with, were passionate about their cause and made the tough but traditional sacrifices in comfort that biology often demands. It's fascinating to hear about the beginning of the conservation movement from her point of view, and somehow both comforting and amazing to know that the people involved and the challenges to meet are much still the same.

[Marjie C-O · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this ever fascinating book, especially the latter half when Frances and her husband are young naturalists in the wilds of late 30s Wisconsin. A mesmerizing voluntary riches to rags story as well as a Prairie Chicken rescue account. It is written as 2-3 page vignettes from Frances' life, plus some photos and illustrations. The first half of the book is comprised of quite outlandish, random tales of silver spoon life as a precocious child and Frances' daring-do. All very interesting (if not a bit of an eye-roller at times). BUT stick around for the second half where we pick up with Frances as a young wife and hardscrabble naturalist in the early days of the field (highly unusual for women of the time, of course). It is completely enthralling. What a life! I couldn't put it down.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - couldn't put it down! It was extremely enjoyable and a wonderful book to suggest to my middle school children to read about the beginning of environmental exploration.

[Nick Goodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good read, but it had a lot of overlap with some of her other books (mainly strictly for the chickens). If you have already read that book, be prepared to reread most of it in the second half of my double life.

[Judy Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vignettes from the life of a naturalist and her husband who devoted years to saving the prairie chicken from extinction. I didn’t know anything about the subject before I read of their utter devotion to their cause. Lives well lived.