Kissed by a Fox: And Other Stories of Friendship in Nature

by Priscilla Stuckey

Overview

Drawing inspiration from sources as varied as ancient philosophers and contemporary biologists, Kissed by a Fox challenges readers to enact a different story of nature, one in which people and place are not separate, where other creatures respond to human need, and where humans and all others together create the world

"Dissatisfaction with nature flows throughout Western civilization, as deep as its blood, as abiding as its bones. Convinced to the marrow that something is deeply wrong with nature, . . . the Western world tries to remake it into something better."

For Priscilla Stuckey, this is a fundamental and heartbreaking misconception: that nature can be fixed, exploited, or simply ignored. Modern societies try to bend nature to human will instead of engaging in give–and–take with a living, breathing land community.

Using her personal experiences as the cornerstone, Stuckey explores the depth of relationship possible with the birch tree in our backyard, the nearby urban creek, the dog who settles on our bed each night.

With the eloquence of the great nature writers before her, Stuckey encourages us to open ourselves to the unlimited possibilities of a truly connected life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582438122
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	08/21/2012
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 8.02(h) x 1.02(d)

About the Author

Priscilla Stuckey is a writer and spiritual counselor with a passion for reconnecting people with nature, including their own natures. Her first book, Kissed by a Fox: And Other Stories of Friendship in Nature, won the 2013 WILLA Award in Creative Nonfiction. Stuckey received a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, in religious studies and feminist theory. She has taught humanities and writing in the graduate programs of Prescott College and Naropa University. She lives at the base of the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque with her partner, Tim, and their dog, Bodhi.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Bald Eagle 1

1 Cut-Leaf Weeping Birch 23

2 Hooded Oriole 51

3 Wild Orphans 69

4 Red Foxes 89

5 Stories We Live By 115

6 Sapphire 143

7 Ancestors 171

8 Peralta Creek 197

9 Shvana 223

10 family 249

11 Brio 273

12 Earth 305

Epilogue: Night 331

Acknowledgments 337

Notes 341

Index 369

Editorial Reviews

"Through a tenderly woven collection of essays that blend personal reflections with spirituality, philosophy, animal behaviorism, evolution, geology and ecology, first-time author Stuckey explores the great rift between the living, breathing world and the modern culture bent on developing and destroying it...The narratives are well paced, using flashbacks wisely, and the language lyrical, possessing a poet’s cleverness of rhythm...[An] entertaining and emotionally resonant book." —Publisher's Weekly

"Kissed by a Fox will make you think about life and nature in a different way."—Temple Grandin, author, Animals in Translation

“An amazing philosophical memoir that weaves together the author's personal stories of ‘friendship in nature’ with an insightful history of Western thought, or failure of thought, on nature and the environment.”—Julene Bair, author, Where Rivers Run Sand (coming soon) and One Degree West

“Prophetic calls to live more justly are rarely as beautiful as Priscilla Stuckey’s Kissed by a Fox. We are offered stories of intertwined lives, encounters between members of different species, discoveries of intimacies with rocks, plants, galaxies, pets, and wild things. We are invited to build an Earth-friendly culture by simply living more respectfully among others. It is a compelling call.” —Graham Harvey, author, Animism: Respecting the Living World

“Stuckey’s book does make you look differently at the things around you, not just your dog or cat, but the trees you carelessly brush by on your way to the bus stop, or the squirrel that darts across your path. . . . That is her point—for us to finally see nature, to remember to take in that beauty as we saunter by. . . . It’s a book about hope.” —Seattle Star

“A courageous book that beautifully illustrates how personal practices that deepen our relationships with all the beings among whom we live enable us to participate in a rejuvenating conversation with an animate Earth.”—Cormac Cullinan, author, Wild Law and coauthor, “The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth”

“Kissed by a Fox is an elegant and moving work of art.” —Marilyn Krysl, author, Dinner with Osama and Swear the Burning Vow

“Priscilla Stuckey explores our Western spiritual and political choices and argues for a new approach to nature, all of it. Her argument for a wider definition of justice, for a new understanding of stewardship, is compelling, and [she] has shaped it into an artful and engaging narrative. . . . I bought a copy of her book as a gift before I'd even completed this review. It's that good.” —Susan Schoch, Story Circle Network

"So okay, Kissed by a Fox, I figure cool metaphor, right? Nope. The fox was real, and so was the kiss. Reader, prepare yourself . . . I love Priscilla Stuckey’s book for its honesty, its lyrical evocations of the natural world, its wry humor, but above all for the compelling stories inside of stories inside of stories, all of which conspire to persuade us that we are critters—gloriously so, set down in a world of critters no less wondrous than ourselves, and that if we can just follow through on this understanding we stand to gain just about everything." —Carol Lee Flinders, author of Rebalancing the World

“Kissed by a Fox is a work of the soul by a naturally gifted writer. Priscilla Stuckey tackles one of the most elusive subjects: the relationship of the human spirit to the rest of the natural world, and the impact on our humanity when we distance ourselves from it. This is a book of healing.” —Richard Louv, author, The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods

"Priscilla Stuckey’s treatment of the relations between religious communities and nature is the best I’ve ever read. And her beautiful writing both warms my heart and brings shivers of heartache and understanding."—Stephen Jones, coauthor of Peterson Field Guide to the North American Prairie, Colorado Nature Almanac, Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range, and Wild Boulder County.

From the Publisher