By Monomoy Light: Nature and Healing in an Island Sanctuary

Rating:
Summary: Lighthouse living, examined
Review: "[P]eople on the move are always fleeing a fate that no longer suits them for the unknown territory of change and fresh starts."And so Chicago native Martha Ruth Mulder reinvented herself as North Tavis Cairn, a journalist who had an opportunity to live alone for several months on Monomoy Island.

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area lying at the southeastern knuckle of Cape Cod's beckoning finger. Once it was a peninsula inhabited in the past by Indians and then later by summer tourists. Over time, Nature and conservationists intervened. A powerful Nor'easter caused a separation with the mainland in 1958; twenty years later, a blizzard broke that island in half. Now that the Monomoy area is part of the Refuge system, its human visitors are most often only birders, fishermen, and scientists.

Cairn's essay-like chapters reveal Monomoy's history and its unique flora and fauna, told with the pen of the intimate insider. While she confesses that the island provides a much-needed solace in which she can process events from her troubled past, she thoughtfully neglects to share her entire backstory with the reader. We know that part of her residency was for spiritual reasons, and she doesn't overwhelm us with more details than we need to know. We all have baggage; it's enough to know that Cairn was lucky enough to find a place where she can deal with her own. Her descriptive prose may get you thinking about visiting Monomoy yourself someday. At the very least, you'll look at gulls a little differently from now on.

Rating:
Summary: Lighthouse living, examined
Review: "[P]eople on the move are always fleeing a fate that no longer suits them for the unknown territory of change and fresh starts."And so Chicago native Martha Ruth Mulder reinvented herself as North Tavis Cairn, a journalist who had an opportunity to live alone for several months on Monomoy Island.

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area lying at the southeastern knuckle of Cape Cod's beckoning finger. Once it was a peninsula inhabited in the past by Indians and then later by summer tourists. Over time, Nature and conservationists intervened. A powerful Nor'easter caused a separation with the mainland in 1958; twenty years later, a blizzard broke that island in half. Now that the Monomoy area is part of the Refuge system, its human visitors are most often only birders, fishermen, and scientists.

Cairn's essay-like chapters reveal Monomoy's history and its unique flora and fauna, told with the pen of the intimate insider. While she confesses that the island provides a much-needed solace in which she can process events from her troubled past, she thoughtfully neglects to share her entire backstory with the reader. We know that part of her residency was for spiritual reasons, and she doesn't overwhelm us with more details than we need to know. We all have baggage; it's enough to know that Cairn was lucky enough to find a place where she can deal with her own. Her descriptive prose may get you thinking about visiting Monomoy yourself someday. At the very least, you'll look at gulls a little differently from now on.