Rating: 
Summary: Excellent weaving together of place and heart
Review: Now that I have read Terry Tempest Williams' excellent book on finding refuge in the areas around the Great Salt Lake, I find I want to visit, to see for myself the stunning landscape and myriad of birdlife. I also find myself drawn to this courageous woman who lets us into this difficult part of her life, as her mother passes into the shadow of cancer. Not for the first time, we learn, and not such a rare occurrence in her family, we discover; a discovery that, for me, evoked anger at the unfairness of exposing human beings to atomic bomb test fallout. There is so much in this book: the detailed descriptions of the birds and their habits, the extraordinary unfolding of the progression of cancer and its effect on the family, the interplay of three women -- grandmother, mother, daughter -- and through it all, the gentle and exquisite writing carried me nearly effortlessly, yet with great strength. I can find no fault with the writing, the evocative images, the revelation of relationships, and the treatment of this undoubtedly amazing place. Thank you, Terry, for writing this book.
Rating:
Summary: Honest and unique
Review: Rarely has the inner landscape of a person's soul been so honestly described in print. Terry Tempest Williams presents us with an intensely personal look at herself and still manages to remain the private person behind the book. This is no small feat... and the writing in "Refuge" is up to the task. This is very lyrical writing and could easily remind us of an older tradition of verbal story-telling and the passing on of history from generation to generation. Williams has a recurring theme in her work: that of being connected with and living fully in the physical earth surrounding her. "Refuge" illustrates this connection beautifully as the flooding of Great Salt Lake parallels her own journey through death in her family, her realization that these deaths were not innocent and, finally, her acceptance that she herself is looking down the barrel of a gun. Very haunting, sad in places and yet full of life, "Refuge" is a very unique way of looking at some of life's most demanding challenges. I sincerely hope that the author is able to avoid that fate which she leaves us thinking about at the end of the book and I applaud her decision to be so brave and honest with her writing. "Desert Quartet" by the same author is an absolutely priceless little book, and "Refuge" is the second book by this author I have read. I look forward to more releases from this dynamic and very relevant author.
Rating:
Summary: The following is a portion of Williams so called sacred rage
Review: Refuge, a truly moving book, ties family to natural history, tragedy and loss to human grace. It links the private anguish of a Mormon family dealing with the slow death by cancer of a loved one to the sweeping drama of a random cycle of nature. Disaster is at the center of this haunting book as the Great Salt Lake rises to break all records, submerging roads and driving the resident wildlife away, as the author's mother dies of cancer at age 53. Terry Tempest Williams in her book at times questions her Mormon religion, while portraying her own beliefs, and all of a sudden it seems as if she has created a beautiful religion of her own. William's, in her crusade to fight her family's anguish and to help the cycle of nature, is brought to the age-old tradition of nature worship. I recall William's ride to the Canadian Goose Club with her friend Sandy Lopez when they encountered two rude men at whom Williams felt a rage. Williams on the drive to the club said, "Men define intimacy through their bodies. It is physical. They define intimacy with the land in the same way." In response to that her friend Sandy said "Many men have forgotten what they are connected to"(10). Williams, after talking about men, was angered by their attitude toward nature, and their superiority over women. Her anger towards men was something that she described as her "sacred rage"( 11). Her sacred rage is and was women not having a voice in the Mormon religion, and men being superior over women while betraying them of all rights. An example of this is from the ride to the Canadian Goose Club when Williams was angered by two men. The man at the club, being a smartass, said about the killing of the owls that , We didn't kill'em. Those boys from the highway department came and graveled the place. Two bits, they did it. I mean, you gotta admit those ground owls are messy little bastards. They'll *#@! all over hell if ya let'em. And try and sleep with'em hollering at ya all night long. They had to go. Anyway, we got bets with the country they'll pop up someplace around here next year. (12) Williams believes that the natural world already had what she was looking for, and she considers those days sacred unlike the sacred rage she had within her Mormon faith. The idea of men being leader of the clan and women keeping quiet is more or less a tradition that has played a role in the Mormon faith. After hearing what the guy at the club said, Williams thought, "Restraint is the steel partition between a rational mind and a violent one. I knew rage. It was fire in my stomach with no place to go" (12). Williams, a woman who is somewhat looked down by the world of men, expresses her true self in her nature worship. She believes that nature can heal her wounds, unlike her Mormon religion which will not give her the same satisfaction. Williams says, "There is a holy place in the salt desert, where egrets hover like angels. It is a cave near the lake where water bubbles up from inside the earth. I am hidden and saved from the outside world. Leaning against the back wall of the cave, the curve of the rock supports the curve of my spine" (237). Williams feels that she can't express her freedom without her naturalistic faith. She calls Nature the faith that does not deprive her of any freedom. Williams, in reference to nature says, "this is the secret den of my healing, where I come to whittle down my losses" (237). In this excerpt Williams means that nature has come to aid in the time of loss, and that it is the true care-giver, hence her faith is in it.. A famous Japanese author, Kenzaburo Oe, who wrote the book Hiroshima, a book similar to Refuge, said, "all religions are born of light". I agree with this author, and say that perhaps Refuge has given birth to a religion of peace. Williams as a woman growing up in a Mormon tradition in Salt Lake City, Utah, was taught to believe that the most important value is obedience. But that obedience in the name of religion or patriotism ultimately steals souls. Because of this Williams thought deeply about the issue of what is acceptable and what is not; and whether do we maintain obedience and law and when do we engage in civil disobedience -- When we can cross the line physically and metaphorically and say, "No, this is no longer appropriate behavior?" For Willaiams, the decision was that she should commit civil disobedience in order to get a voice in the world of Mormonism like the pentagon, and other male centered structures. Williams, in an interview with Mr. London, a journalist, said: "I think we have to stand up against what is unacceptable, and to push the boundaries, and reclaim a more humane way of being in the world, so that we can extend our compassionate intelligence and begin to work with a strengthened will and, imagination that can take us into the future" (London,www. 11-27-97). Williams wants to get a say, and break the tradition of men being supreme over woman. She is a charismatic figure, and one who won't give up without a true fight. I think of her as a true reformer, and one who would certainly break the old traditions of Mormonism. William's personality is not ordinary rather it is charismatic, and I say this because Williams has a way of convincing the public. Her pursuit to help nature and to keep hope in her mother was of great power, and I believe this task could not of been performed by any ordinary human being. The idea of being charismatic was not meant for women in her Mormon faith and this style of expression, I personally believe was the main cause for Williams drift from her faith and her move towards a naturalistic faith which was more pleasing to her. Williams, in the interview with Mr. London, says, Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from. Humanity is part of nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identity ourselves with the rest of life, the more quickly we will be able to discover the sources of human sensibility and acquire knowledge on which an enduring ethic, a sense of preferred direction, can be built (London,www.11-27-97). Williams words are so beautiful that one can not realize without stopping and thinking what she really is talking about. She means that Nature, the religion and the faith of the wild, has something that other religions don't have, and that is to live in a personal state of mind. It is a religion that does not have a supreme ruler; thus it does not enforce a certain behavior. This wonderful culture that exists but we fail to recognize, is known as the ultimate faith. In her book, Williams points out the flaws in her Mormon religion which include its view of the supreme being, traditions, and many other related materials. Williams says, Where is the motherbody?...We are far too conciliatory. If we as Mormon women believe in God the father and in his son, Jesus, it is only logical that a mother-in-Heaven balances the sacred triangle. I believe the holy ghost is female, although she has remained hidden, invisible, deprived of a body, she is the spirit that seeps into our hearts and directs to the well...My prayers no longer bear the proper masculine salutation. I include both Father and Mother in Heaven (241). From this we learn that Williams has a grudge against her Mormon faith due to the fact that she and all women are being denied the rights of what they believe. I recall, when all the men stood in a circle to pray for Williams mother, and her mother remarked "Someday I hope that Terry and Ann and my granddaughters will be able to stand in the circle" (207). It is very sad to hear such words from a woman suffering from cancer.
Rating:
Summary: One of My Top Ten "Desert Island" Books
Review: Terry Tempest Williams has crafted a gorgeous book about life, love, grief and death. There is little I can write here that hasn't been written in the more than 20 previous reviews of this book, so I'll keep it short and sweet.If you are a nature lover, read this book.
If you are a breast cancer survivor, read this book.
If you have breast cancer right now, read this book.
If you are grieving or have ever grieved, read this book.
If you love the wildlands of Utah, read this book.
If you hate what humanity has done to the environment, read this book.
After you finish reading this book, buy it for your friends and bless them with it!
Rating:
Summary: One of My Top Ten "Desert Island" Books
Review: Terry Tempest Williams has crafted a gorgeous book about life, love, grief and death. There is little I can write here that hasn't been written in the more than 20 previous reviews of this book, so I'll keep it short and sweet. If you are a nature lover, read this book.
If you are a breast cancer survivor, read this book.
If you have breast cancer right now, read this book.
If you are grieving or have ever grieved, read this book.
If you love the wildlands of Utah, read this book.
If you hate what humanity has done to the environment, read this book.
After you finish reading this book, buy it for your friends and bless them with it!
Rating:
Summary: Williams has an uncanny ability to make you sympathetic.
Review: Terry Tempest Williams is gifted not only in her ability to describe her experiences, but in her ability to grab the reader and bring her along for the ride.
In Refuge she pulls the reader out of the present and into the expanse of the Great Salt Lake, the hidden world of birds, the Mormon church, and the lives of almost unbearably passionate women.
Women who have learned to live in the present moment despite cancer and censorship. While reading this book, I had to put it aside often to allow William's words to sink in.
My Mormon background and the loss of my own mother became one with hers.
I have never read a book quite like this. Williams combines her naturalist intelligence, her gutsy insight and her spiritual depth to create a creative non-ficiton masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Circle of Life
Review: The balance of life, death, nature, suffering would seem heavy subjects but the perspective Terry casts on these through her carefully crafted story deliver a divine reading experience. The wrenching grace with which death and our dance with death is portrayed is superb. The understatement of the government responsibility for her tragedy packed a punch as well. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Refuge: An "Unnaturally" Great Nature Story
Review: The subtitle to Refuge calls it "An unnatural history of family and place". I think this describes it well, though the full meaning of this phrase remains a mystery until the end. The author parallels the ups and downs of the Great Salt Lake, where she works at a bird refuge, to the ups and downs of living with a dying mother and history of cancer in the family. "Refuge" is found in various forms, internal and external, an important one being the outdoors. Though not always directly a story about nature, the complex relationship with a troubled land is expressed through the story of this family tied to the earth by its Mormon heritage and need for escape. The book raises numerous gender and culture issues while the author shows how these people are inextricably tied to the land. I really liked this book. The style of the writing was poetic and pleasing, and it was delivered in a way that consciously expressed the centrality of the landscape to the author's life. I like how it operates as environmental argument focused on how nature affects one's life. I found Refuge compelling and disturbing and enjoying, as it was surely intended to be.
Rating:
Summary: a beautiful story about family and death
Review: This book carries from beginning to end the metaphor of her mother's death and the death of an ecosystem, in this case a bird refuge on the shore of Great Salt Lake in Utah. As the water level rises, her mother's cancer grows worse. It's beautifully done. Although the book focuses on her mother's breast cancer, and although the central characters in the book are women, this is not solely a book for women. This book is for anyone. Its themes are universal. It is a tale of coping with death in a culture which distances itself from the natural world. The writing is simple and graceful, and the message is full of love and anger and beauty. Everyone should read it.
Rating: 
Summary: read Edward Abbey instead
Review: This book is overrated and self-indulgent. If you do read it, don't feel compelled to like it just because you've heard so many good things about it.
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