A review by naturemamareads
Wild Rituals: 10 Lessons Animals Can Teach Us about Connection, Community, and Ourselves by Caitlin O'Connell

hopeful informative lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

WILD RITUALS by Caitlin O’Connell

First of all, I want to crush on this lady for a moment!! Dr. Caitlin O’Connell is a world renowned elephant scientist, she’s on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, she’s had an award winning Smithsonian documentary featuring her work… yeah… Just wow! Growing up I was obsessed with Jane Goodall and her studies. Did you know I was a vet tech before going into nursing school? This book reminded me of my deep deep love of animals and our necessary connection to them. 10 lessons animals can teach us about connection, community, and ourselves is what the world needs right now. Take a look at your behavior through the lens of an animal scientist. You’ll see that we’re not that different in rituals.

Animals are funny. They display outlandish behaviors to get a mates attention, nest, burrow, and even sh** themselves to show affection. By seeing some of the behaviors that birds display for a mate, it may closely remind you of bathroom selfies, gym selfies, and bringing flowers to a significant other. Many animals mate for life, while others have one night stands and continue playing the field their whole lives. There’s no judgement in the animal kingdom. The common thread among species including our own, is the power of the collective. Singled out we may be prey, but together we can make big changes in our own ecosystems and harbor a healthy community.

This book was so healing. It just put a direct injection of love straight to my heart. I highly recommend this for any animal lover, Nat Geo watcher, or science nerd. It’s extremely fascinating and heartfelt. O’Connell writes with passion, and a true love and understanding of not only the animal world, but the human world.

@tlcbooktours @chronicleprism @elephant_skinny #caitlinoconnell #WildRituals #animalbehavior #nonfiction #themoreyouknow