Join us in welcoming Dara McAnulty who, at 15, spent a year chronicling his experiences in nature and the life experiences that shaped him in Diary of a Young Naturalist. We will be joined by writer and historian Bathsheba Demuth.

About Diary of a Young Naturalist:

Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty's world. From spring and through a year in his home patch in Northern Ireland, Dara spent the seasons writing. These vivid, evocative and moving diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are raw in their telling. "I was diagnosed with Asperger's/autism aged five ... By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system." Diary of a Young Naturalist portrays Dara's intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and friendships alongside a life of campaigning. "In writing this book," Dara explains, "I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere." * When Dara McAnulty was very small, he crawled to catch anything that moved. Nature was the source of all wonder and curiosity to him. Every screech, squawk, flicker of wing, wriggle, buzz and hum; filled him with a desire to learn more and now that he can understand it, feel connected to a world which was overwhelming and confusing. He was ‘diagnosed’ with Asperger’s when he was 5. Life was isolated and difficult…but he continued to learn, write, photograph and feel joy in doing heartfelt things. His blog, started in 2016 won the youth category for The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild 2017 campaign and the yearly ‘competition’ – best blog of 2016 – organised by A Focus on Nature. He wants people to know that those who are autistic or Asperger’s can achieve things – in a nurtured environment, in a society where acceptance and not tolerance, is the norm.

Bathsheba Demuth is a writer and historian, with particular interests in the Russian and North American Arctic. Her engagement with northern environments and cultures began when she was 18 and moved to the village of Old Crow in the Yukon. For over two years, she mushed huskies, hunted caribou, fished for salmon, and otherwise learned to survive in the taiga and tundra. Her multiple-prize winning first book, Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait (W.W. Norton) was named a Nature Top Ten Book of 2019 and Best Book of 2019 by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal among others. Her writing has appeared in publications from The American Historical Review to The New Yorker. When not in the Arctic, she lives in Rhode Island, where is an Assistant Professor of History and Environment and Society at Brown University.

Diary of a Young Naturalist will available at Lost City Books in June!