Roadkill recipes…
Author: Will Harlan
If you’re looking for a real-life story about a remarkable woman, you need to look no further. On the other hand, if the idea of living on a diet that consists mostly of roadkill makes you queasy, you might need to reconsider. Either way, there’s no denying that Untamed is one incredible story. Nature journalist Will Harlan’s chronicle of the uniquely adventurous Carol Ruckdeschel – the best ally that sea turtles have ever had – is one of the best biographies I’ve read in a long time.
Having reveled in any wild spaces she could find throughout her early childhood in western New York and Hawaii, Carol really hit her stride as a teenager in the outskirts of Atlanta in the 1950s. Hunting, exploring and climbing in Georgia’s numerous wild places, she learned by doing. When she wasn’t living in a cave she was riding the rapids with US president-to-be Jimmy Carter.
Looking north along the beach…
But, not surprisingly, a life of natural adventure doesn’t translate that well into the modern world, especially for a young woman with a fierce independent streak. So Carol struggled when it came to “normal” things like college, careers and relationships. She wandered a bit, but eventually had the remarkable good fortune to end up on Cumberland Island on Georgia’s Atlantic coast, one of the most remarkable natural areas in the lower 48.
Feral horses on the shore…
And it’s on this ecologically diverse barrier island where she really came into her own. She fell in love with the place – the woods, salt marshes and sandy beaches that host alligators, sea turtles, wild boars, feral horses and countless other creatures. What little development there was had been dominated by steel magnate Thomas Carnegie and his heirs for the previous 100 years, but increasing pressure was building to develop the area more fully with the assistance of the National Park Service. Carol recognized the potential ecologic disaster that this represented and the ensuing battles she fought make up most of the rest of the book.
But when she wasn’t single-handedly taking on wealthy developers or creating new road-kill recipes, she was saving the numerous species of sea turtles that nest on Cumberland Island’s beaches. Collecting data from the many carcasses that washed up on shore every year, she played an instrumental role in developing the regulations that require the use of turtle-excluder-devices on commercial fishing nets. Harlan interweaves sea turtle science into Carol’s story to good effect, elevating these wondrous creatures into a strong supporting role within the narrative.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the unique life of Carol Ruckdeschel is a treasure trove for any storyteller, but it does take special skill to tell her stories so well. Following her around the island for years, Harlan manages to capture her natural spirit and package it into thoroughly intriguing chronicle. Somehow he is able to write about the often very intimate and tragic events in her life without ever getting in the way. It’s really quite an accomplishment.
In the tradition of scientific giants like Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Carol Ruckdeschel repeatedly put her life on the line in the interests of knowledge and the natural world, with little regard for popular opinion or her personal safety. An impressive achievement in immersive nature journalism, Untamed captures Carol’s unrelenting passion for the natural world and is sure to thrill anyone who is looking for a decidedly unique biography. Highly recommended.
— D. Driftless
beach photo by Flatwoods 36 (CC BY-SA 4.0) /horse photo by Linda (CC BY 2.0)
Check out another book review about sea turtles: The Voyage of the Turtle
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