Sy Montgomery

presents

How to Be a Good Creature:
A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

in conversation with VICKI CONSTANTINE CROKE

This event includes a book signing

Date

Sep
28
Friday
September 28, 2018
7:00 PM ET

Location

Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138

Tickets

This event is free; no tickets are required.

Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed naturalist and author SY MONTGOMERY—whose book The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist—for a discussion of her latest book, How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals. She will be joined in conversation by award-winning wildlife writer VICKI CONSTANTINE CROKE.

About How to Be a Good Creature

Understanding someone who belongs to another species can be transformative. No one knows this better than author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery. To research her books, Sy has traveled the world and encountered some of the planet’s rarest and most beautiful animals. From tarantulas to tigers, Sy’s life continually intersects with and is informed by the creatures she meets.

This restorative memoir reflects on the personalities and quirks of thirteen animals—Sy’s friends—and the truths revealed by their grace. It also explores vast themes: the otherness and sameness of people and animals; the various ways we learn to love and become empathetic; how we find our passion; how we create our families; coping with loss and despair; gratitude; forgiveness; and most of all, how to be a good creature in the world.

Praise

How to Be a Good Creature is one of the most moving books I have ever read. Sy Montgomery’s open honesty about her life allows her to find guidance from the unlikeliest creatures, and in their own ways these animals speak with the same spiritual purity as she speaks to us in this breathtaking work.” —Bob Tarte, author of Enslaved by Ducks

“I don’t know anyone whose animal empathies and scientific bona fides I admire more than Montgomery’s—from the curiosity she holds for a tarantula to the tender longing she has for an octopus. Told with characteristic humility and gorgeous language, How to Be a Good Creature is a remarkable achievement.” —Eliot Schrefer, author of Endangered, a National Book Award finalist

“A truly beautiful book about life, family, loss, and love.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

How to Be a Good Creature is a rare jewel, full of empathy and the profound wisdom Sy has received from animals she has loved over her extraordinary lifetime. This sweet book is a triumphant masterpiece that I’m recommending to everyone.” —Stacey O’Brien, author of Wesley the Owl

Sy Montgomery
Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and author of twenty acclaimed books of nonfiction for adults and children, including the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus and the memoir The Good Good Pig, a New York Times bestseller. The recipient of numerous honors, including lifetime achievement awards from the Humane Society and the New England Booksellers Association, she lives in New Hampshire with her husband, border collie, and flock of chickens.

Photo Credit: Michael Sterling

Vicki Constantine Croke
Vicki Constantine Croke

Vicki Constantine Croke

Vicki Constantine Croke has been exploring animal life for more than two decades. She now covers creatures great and small for WBUR-FM. Her work there earned a 2013 regional Edward R. Murrow award. Her books include Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War IIThe Lady and the Panda, and The Modern Ark: The Story of Zoos—Past, Present and Future. She also wrote The Boston Globe's “Animal Beat” column for thirteen years, and has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The London Sunday Telegraph, Time magazine, Popular Science, O, The Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, National Wildlife, and Discover magazine among others. She lives in the Boston area.

Photo Credit: Christen Goguen

Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138

Walking from the Harvard Square T station: 2 minutes

As you exit the station, reverse your direction and walk east along Mass. Ave. in front of the Cambridge Savings Bank. Cross Dunster St. and proceed along Mass. Ave for three more blocks. You will pass Au Bon Pain, JP Licks, and TD Bank. Harvard Book Store is located at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Plympton St.

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