The Will of Heaven: An Inspiring True Story About Elephants, Alcoholism, and Hope

by Debbie Ethell

Overview

The Will of Heaven is the powerful true story of how one woman overcame a debilitating addiction−rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation research scientist. It was there she could finally fulfill her lifelong dream of working with wild elephants.

Debbie Ethell became obsessed by a group of elephants in Kenya when she was eight years old after seeing them on a PBS nature show. Over the next several years, her obsession grew−until a group of school bullies left her contemplating suicide.

By the time she was twenty-six, an addiction to alcohol robbed her of nearly everything except her dreams … and it nearly took those too. Left with one final option and more judges in her life than friends, she entered a treatment center and then a halfway house, where she slowly learned how to live life sober.

The Will of Heaven vividly captures her serendipitous journey as she discovers her inner strength−not unlike that of the elephants whose stories she tells. Part biography, part revelation, this story will inspire others to reach further than they ever thought they could. Above all, it conveys a strong message of hope, both for elephants fighting to survive poaching and for alcoholics fighting to survive addiction.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940164442361
Publisher:	Alberta Pearl Publishing
Publication date:	06/08/2019
Series:	Will of Heaven
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Debbie Ethell is the bestselling author of “The Will of Heaven,” a conservation research scientist, and the founder and former executive director of The KOTA Foundation for Elephants. “The Will of Heaven” is the first book in a series that tells the powerful true story of how she overcame a debilitating addiction—rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation scientist who studies a group of wild elephants she’s followed since she was eight years old.

Her passion is teaching everything she knows about elephants and the “Did You Know” series is a collection of the greatest elephant facts that inspire her. Now a full-time writer Ms. Ethell calls Portland, Oregon home. You can visit her online at www.debbieethell.com, watch her series on elephants called “The Elephant in the Room” on her YouTube channel (Debbie Ethell) or follow her on Instagram (@debbieethellauthor).

Table of Contents

Prologue: Final Court Appearance

What would Eleanor do? I thought, contemplating the mess I’d made of my life. She had faced insurmountable odds just to survive, including the death of her mother, killed right in front of her, and had gone on to save hundreds of others in similar circumstances. Yet even now there were people who wished her dead.

Eleanor, along with about four hundred others, were wild elephants in Kenya I’d followed since I was eight years old−the age when it all began. Eleanor possessed an incredible amount of courage. God, I needed that courage now.

Sitting in the courthouse parking lot, I looked down at the 7-Eleven Big Gulp in the cup holder before me. I wish I could drink it now. But I couldn’t. Another judge was waiting. They would smell the alcohol on my breath as soon as I entered the courtroom, and I would be doomed for sure. It was almost time. With a wave of nausea, I got out of the car and walked into what had by now become all too familiar surroundings.

...

Introduction: The Beginning

I was only eight years old when I met Eleanor. She was one of the first known cases of an elephant successfully released back into the wild after being raised in captivity. I first learned about her story on a nature show on PBS, an episode which made time stand still for me. As if a door I didn’t even know existed, suddenly opened. A seed was planted that night, and a lifelong obsession took hold.

…

Chapter 1: Eleanor

I actually have no memory of my first experience with an elephant. My grandmother Pearl took me to visit the elephants at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle when I was two years old. I was perched on top of her shoulders to get a better look when she got distracted by something. She didn’t notice as one of the elephants approached us from behind.

The elephant stepped up on a curb inside the enclosure so she could reach over the short fence. She gently wrapped her trunk around my waist and began to lift.

...

Chapter 2: An Alcoholic Admission

Getting sober was never my intention. It just sort of happened that way. Trouble kept finding me everywhere I went, and my luck was running thin. One day a new therapist asked me the same question so many had before−only this time I answered it with absolute honesty, though I have no idea why.

“Debbie, how often do you drink and use drugs?”

Before I could stop myself, it just came out, “Every. Single. Day.”

…

Chapter 3: Eleanor and the Tusks

The river must have looked like a spectacle to anyone who witnessed it. There was Eleanor standing on the bank, watching a menagerie of animals frolicking and playing in the muddy water. There were younger elephants playing with young rhinos. There was a zebra, several ostriches, a few buffalo, and a peacock, all of which had been rescued by David and brought to Daphne.

Suddenly Eleanor lifted her trunk, catching a scent in the wind. An elephant’s sense of smell is incredibly powerful, five times greater than that of a bloodhound.

…

Continues through Chapter 31

Editorial Reviews

"Debbie's deeply personal account of her addiction, recovery and building a new life dedicated to conservation would be compelling and deeply moving if told on its own, but combined with the insights and stories of the remarkable elephants that encouraged her recovery, her story is elevated to a truly inspiring memoir. You are guaranteed to learn something about the world reading this book, and I think it will leave you feeling very hopeful. However desperate the challenges, together we can overcome adversity to secure a future for elephants, and ourselves." -Dr. Lucy Bates, Research Fellow, University of Sussex

From the Publisher