Bad Naturalist Audiobook By Paula Whyman cover art

Bad Naturalist

One Woman's Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop

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Bad Naturalist

By: Paula Whyman
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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In this awe-inspiring memoir, a woman attempts to restore land in the Blue Ridge Mountains, facing her own limitations while getting to know a breathtaking corner of the natural world.

When empty nester Paula Whyman climbs to a peak in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, her plans for a backyard ecology project quickly morph into a massive endeavor. In Bad Naturalist, Whyman struggles with conflicting advice from experts, an influx of invasive species, delayed plans, and the occasional rattlesnake—but none of it dampens her irrepressible passion for protecting the land.

Bad Naturalist is woven with Whyman's delightful storytelling as she attempts to coax a beautiful piece of land back into shape. Putting her preconceived notions aside, she forms a deep connection with the earth, reminding us that the quest to tame it is a fool's errand.

©2025 Paula Whyman (P)2025 Timber Press Climate Change Conservation Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science

Critic reviews

“With dry humor and an always engaging voice, Paula Whyman takes us on an entertaining and unexpected journey restoring a wild Virginia mountaintop. Bad Naturalist is a master class in ecology, humility, and perseverance, that will have you thinking about mid-life larks, plants, and gardens, in a whole new light.”—Susan Coll, former president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and author of Real Life and Other Fictions

"A brilliant, richly layered exploration of the natural world, Paula Whyman’s gripping tale embeds the reader on a mountaintop, sweeping us through the landscape and her life while braiding memoir, biodiversity, expertise, and doubt, along with inevitable setbacks that she counters with sheer determination. Whyman, a ‘pretty good’ naturalist, is the perfect guide to today’s urgent questions, proposing some unexpected answers and delivering it all in unputdownable prose, with a sense of humor and a joyful spirit."—Jordan Goodman, author of Planting the World: Joseph Banks and His Collectors, an Adventurous History of Botany
"How can someone who knows nothing about ecological restoration successfully rehab 200 acres of retired farmland? In Bad Naturalist, her self-deprecating, humorous, and thoroughly engaging book, Paula Whyman tells us exactly how. She describes the many pitfalls, explains how she triumphed over them, and details the many benefits of persevering, both for herself and for her mountaintop ecosystem. Why should landowners read this book? Because they own—and need to restore—most of the landscape, an awesome responsibility whose meaning Whyman has distilled for us.”—Douglas W. Tallamy, New York Times bestselling author of Nature’s Best Hope
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Enjoyed the natural history connected to the authors discovery of her property and stories of her growing up, her family, and relationship with the outdoors. Didn't care for her desire to control natural systems.

beautifully written self discovery within a description of a wonderful property.

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