Discover a new wilderness, where animals survive—and thrive—in damaged, developed, and disturbed environments.

THE PERSISTENCE OF WILD THINGS:
How Life Endures in the Most Unexpected Places
by Emily Sohn
Sourcebooks, July 2027
(via DeFiore and Company)

Along highways in the United States, monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed during long-distance migrations, even as vehicles fly past at 70 mph. In a swirling mass of waste in the ocean called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, fantastic and otherworldly creatures float alongside and on top of milk jugs. On the border of Israel and Syria, wolves find safety in minefields in the Golan Heights, where fragile explosives keep people away. And on a small Swedish island, the quiet presence of bird-watching tourists protects a lively seabird population from predators.

In THE PERSISTENCE OF WILD THINGS, award-winning journalist Emily Sohn takes readers on an investigative journey around the world to explore pockets of wildlife thriving in unexpected places. She speaks with researchers and scientists, digging into deeply complex questions surrounding modern relationships between people and wild animals. Through conversations and visits to unusual field sites, she reveals how our best efforts to help the environment may sometimes cause harm. Along the way, we begin to see the potential for a new approach to conservation, one that acknowledges the reality of today’s ecosystems and sees humans as a part of nature, not apart from it.

Although coverage of environmental issues often induces despair, THE PERSISTENCE OF WILD THINGS leads with optimism. The natural world is filled with stories of resilience, and wilderness is everywhere. If we learn to notice the bright spots and silver linings, we can cultivate a new kind of hope for the future.

Emily Sohn is an award-winning health and science journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, Outside, Nature, Scientific American, Audubon, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Discovery, Science News, and many other publications. Her stories have accumulated awards from the National Association of Science Writers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and more. She has appeared on podcasts, radio programs, and TV shows, including NPR’s All Things Considered, the BBC World News, and All Sides with Ann Fisher.