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Diary of a Young Naturalist
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About This Book
From sixteen-year-old Dara McAnulty, a globally renowned figure in the youth climate activist movement, comes a memoir about loving the natural world and fighting to save it. Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of a year in Dara's Northern Ireland home patch. Beginning in spring―when "the sparrows dig the moss from the guttering and the air is as puffed out as the robin's chest―these diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are vivid, evocative, and moving. As well as Dara's intense connection to the natural world, Diary of a Young Naturalist captures his perspective as a teenager juggling exams, friendships, and a life of campaigning. We see his close-knit family, the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of living with autism. "In writing this book," writes Dara, "I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere." Winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and already sold into more than a dozen territories, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a triumphant debut from an important new voice.
Reviews
"Reading this marvellous diary leaves me with the impression that whatever the future holds, with young people like McAnulty coming to the fore it will be in safer hands ..."
"This should be required reading."
"A heartfelt, uplifting, hopeful memoir from a talented new voice in nature writing."
"What drives this book is Dara's fierce passion — for his family, for the out of doors, for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others ..."
"McAnulty describes his family as 'close as otters', and the portrait he draws of loving, enlightened, unconventional parents raising three neurodivergent children on a diet of poetry, punk and puffins is profoundly moving ..."
"McAnulty, who has autism, as do his siblings and his mother (dad is the odd one out), writes candidly about his struggles with anxiety and how they present in noisier and more congested areas."
"Not a nature guide as such, but should appeal to many, including fans of nature writing, those who'd like to read about a naturalist on the spectrum, and, of course, all who find inspiration in nature."
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