daphne sheldrick love life and elephants an african love story

In fact, at several points I felt as I was having tea in Daphne’s living room, listening to her tales with awe, sincere admiration…and much discomfort. Sheldrick’s story is well-suited to animal lovers, conservationists and those drawn to well-told non-fiction tilted towards igniting action. Although this title does not fit neatly into three words…wouldn’t you just love to be introduced in this way?ĭelightful design (add the cover image of the book):Īudience appeal (who would enjoy reading this book?): In 2006, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Daphne Sheldrick “‘Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire’ for services to the conservation of wildlife, especially elephants, and to the local community in Kenya” ( source). Introduce the main character (3 key words):ĭaphne Sheldrick is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished (against all odds) when extreme empathy, tenacity and passion combine. This memoir is simultaneously inspirational, beautiful and gut-wrenching.

Her story documents joy and sorrow, wonder and tragedy, deep love and devastating heart-break. Sheldrick has done a remarkable job bringing her characters (both humans and wild/domestic animals) to life. This culminated, years later, in Sheldrick being the first to discover a successful milk-substitute for orphaned elephants. From an early age, Daphne began to care for orphaned wild animals. There began her deep affinity with the wildlife that surrounded her. Astonishingly there was no pain - not yet anyway.”ĭaphne Sheldrick (nee Jenkins) was born in Kenya, in 1934, to British parents. I could see too that I was already bleeding copiously from an open wound in my thigh. I knew at once that the impact had shattered my right leg, for I could hear and feel the bones crunch as I struggled to sit up.

“The elephant took a pace backwards, swung her giant head and, using her trunk to lift my body, threw me like a piece of weightless flotsam high through the air with such force that I smashed down onto a giant clump of boulders some twenty paces away. Upon reading this, I was totally hooked and had great difficulty putting the book down after that. To give you the best sense of this memoir, I took the middle paragraph from the opening prologue. So, here I am again with a quick review of my most recent book read, Love, Life and Elephants: An African Love Story by Daphne Sheldrick. I was happy with the easy review format, while still allowing me ample reflection on my core experiences with the story. In an earlier post, I used the link-up #FridayBookShare to comment on my previous novel read. The clubs meet two weeks apart from each other which, for me, spaces out the timing of the readings perfectly. I’ve previously mentioned that I am a member of two book clubs.

Daphne sheldrick love life and elephants an african love story