When I take the Corgis to Paris Mountain State Park, I feel like I can breathe again. I step into the forest, and tree limbs stretch like a cathedral above our heads. Amongst the quiet of nature, I finally find a sense of peace amidst the crashing chaos of the world. Here, the trees whisper calm affirmations as the wind carries a woodsy incense through the air.
It’s no wonder that so many of us adore nature. There’s something about that special sense of awe and wonder when you feel in your body that you too are one small part in this big beautiful world. For centuries, writers have sung the praises of nature in their work. Nature writing is a beloved genre in and of itself, but there’s something special about a book that blends a strong sense of self into its work. Combining the perfect blend of nature writing and memoir, these authors have found a niche for themselves that celebrates the natural world and their place in it.
These genre-bending books are perfect for memoir lovers who want to dabble in nature writing or nature lovers who want to venture into memoir. If you’re looking for a place to start, I’ve compiled some of my favorite genre-bending nature memoirs that would be perfect for your TBR.
H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
I’ll never forget the first time I read H Is for Hawk. I had just graduated from grad school and ventured into reading for fun again when I checked out the audiobook H Is for Hawk from my public library. I’d never heard of the author nor knew anything about raising hawks, but I knew this book was for me. After MacDonald’s father dies, she buys a baby goshawk and raises it by hand. Her insightful prose and depth of emotion on the page pair perfectly with her descriptions of her hawk. Now, over ten years later, H Is Hawk has been turned into a film starring Claire Foy.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
In this modern classic, Potawatomi author Robin Wall Kimmerer combines her scientific background and her Native Nation’s traditions to create this must-read book that celebrates the natural world and our place in it. In one essay, Kimmerer describes the lifecycle of a pond that she has out back, following it along as the land tries to reclaim it. Few people can truly capture the beauty of the earth’s creatures like she can
All access members continue below for more books that marry nature, nonfiction, and memoir.
Lab Girl: A Memoir by Hope Jahren
We stan scientists in this house, and there are few botanists I love more than Hope Jahren. Her writing is like a meditation on plants. Jahren brings so much of herself to the page as she describes how her life has been influenced by her work in her scientific field, studying and cataloging plants. I will never forget her descriptions of her and her lab partner carefully cataloging plant samples and then trying to gently get them all back home through the airport. I admit, I have rarely been so stressed reading a book about plants!
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Illustrated by Fumi Nakamura
From the anecdotes of Nezhukumatathil’s life to the cute illustrations by artist Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders is the perfect package. Nezhukumatathil describes how her parents taught her a love of nature, but as a child of Indian immigrants, she didn’t see a lot of people like her on nature trails. The different chapters of World of Wonders examine what it’s like to be a South Asian nature-lover in America.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
When How Far the Light Reaches hit shelves, the nonfiction bookish internet was all abuzz about this genre-bending essay collection. Each essay profiles a different sea creature—an octopus, a goldfish, a Bobbitt worm—and ties it back to Imbler’s life. Imbler examines these creatures and the lessons they can teach us with such care and adoration. Their love for their subject fills every page.
The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham
In the 1970s, J. Drew Lanham fell in love with the natural world around him. He became an avid birdwatcher, conservationist, and poet. And it shows! His prose teases out the details of every bird and new bloom he sees on his walks through the forests of South Carolina. But some people thought it was strange for a Black man to love the outdoors like he did. With its clear-eyed gaze, The Home Place ruminates on how Lanham’s sense of self intersects with ideas around rural spaces and belonging.
The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning by Long Litt Woon, Translated by Barbara J. Haveland
Long moved to Norway from Malaysia, and she and her Norwegian husband spent many happy years together, creating a beautiful life. But when her husband died, Long didn’t know how she was going to live without him. But one day, she finds a mushroom, and then another. Soon she joins a group of fellow foragers, making plenty of new friends along the way. The Way Through the Woods contains these detailed passages about mushrooms, where Long’s joy is contagious in the best possible way.
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
Margaret Renkl is one of America’s best Southern columnists for a reason. She can write about just about anything and make it sound interesting. In The Comfort of Crows, she shares the comings and goings of her rural backyard for a year. Each section centers around a different season. In one, Renkl observes the fox wandering through the brush of the flowers blooming after a hard winter. It’s a love letter to the simple things in life that make it worth living.
Whatever book you choose, you are sure to find a haven in nature. For even more nature-centered books, check out Must-Read Books About the Natural World and Go Outside and Touch Grass: 7 Inspiring Books About Nature and the Environment.
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