How to Be a Good Creature — Sy Montgomery

Thirteen animals. One remarkable life shaped by paying attention.

In this warm and deeply thoughtful memoir, acclaimed naturalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the animals who have changed the way she understands the world—and herself.

Across thirteen remarkable encounters, Montgomery introduces us to creatures including dogs, pigs, octopuses, tarantulas, and tigers. Some are companions, some are encountered through her work as a naturalist and adventurer, but each becomes a teacher in its own unexpected way.

Through curiosity, friendship, grief, wonder, and connection across species, How to Be a Good Creature considers what animals can teach us about being alive, caring for others, and finding our place in a world filled with lives very different from our own.

Gentle, insightful, and beautifully illustrated, it’s a memoir for anyone who has ever looked closely at another creature and suspected that we might not be the only ones with something to teach.

Details

• Hardcover
• Written by Sy Montgomery
• Illustrated memoir
• Thirteen animal encounters
• Memoir / nature writing / animals

Why We Love It

We are perhaps not entirely impartial on the subject of animals having rich inner lives.

What we love about this book is that Montgomery doesn't treat animals simply as subjects to observe. She pays attention to them as individuals—with personalities, relationships, preferences, and lessons of their own.

It’s tender without becoming sentimental, curious without keeping its subjects at arm’s length, and full of the particular kind of wonder that comes from realizing how many extraordinary lives are unfolding right alongside ours.