Absolutely fantastic. I was at a used bookstore in Connecticut and happened to find a FIRST EDITION of this book from BORDERS (rip to that icon that was Borders). I was so excited when I picked it up. Growing up in the 2000s when there was a huge emphasis on the environment to kids, I idolized Jane Goodall, so finding this was fate.

The book at its core is about Jane’s spiritual journey throughout her life (growing up in England during WW2, beginning her chimpanzee research, getting into chimpanzee/animal advocacy, etc). Seeing how everything related back to this journey was really beautiful. Spirituality and faith are also things that are never really spoken about or encouraged within the scientific community, but as she talks about, the two don’t have to be disconnected. Jane speaks from a place of love and respect for every belief.

The chapter at the end “Hope” really got to me (the whole book did, I cried throughout, but still). Being that this book was written in the late 90s, a lot of her reflections on hope for the future were not only about everyone alive back then doing there part to help the future, but also the cultivation of environmentally minded future generations, i.e. what we now know as Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and beyond. As a member of one of these generations, it was so interesting to see her viewpoint and all the steps being taken back then, and it makes me crave her perspective today.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone from all walks of life, as she has an amazing perspective and offers incredible wisdom for not only the future of our planet, but the future of humanity.