Name: Marcy Pursell 's review of The Puma Years by Laura Coleman
Item: The Puma Years
Rating: 5
Author: Marcy Pursell

Laura Coleman

In this rapturous memoir, writer and activist Laura Coleman shares the story of her liberating journey in the Amazon jungle, where she fell in love with a magnificent cat who changed her life. Laura was in her early twenties and directionless when she quit her job to backpack in Bolivia. Fate landed her at a wildlife sanctuary on the edge of the Amazon jungle where she was assigned to a beautiful and complex puma named Wayra. Wide-eyed, inexperienced, and comically terrified, Laura made the scrappy, make-do camp her home. And in Wayra, she made a friend for life. They weren't alone, not with over a hundred quirky animals to care for, each lost and hurt in their own way: a pair of suicidal, bra-stealing monkeys, a frustrated parrot desperate to fly, and a pig with a wicked sense of humor. The humans, too, were cause for laughter and tears. There were animal whisperers, committed staff, wildly devoted volunteers, handsome heartbreakers, and a machete-wielding prom queen who carried Laura through. Most of all, there was the jungle--lyrical and alive--and there was Wayra, who would ultimately teach Laura so much about love, healing, and the person she was capable of becoming. Set against a turbulent and poignant backdrop of deforestation, the illegal pet trade, and forest fires, The Puma Years explores what happens when two desperate creatures in need of rescue find one another.

A Memoir

The Puma Years

Marcy Pursell 

** spoiler alert **
           This book reminded me so much of a Peace Corps memoir. The author shares such detail of her time volunteering with the wildlife, I felt like I could picture it so vividly. It's a love letter to the jungle and animals she helped care for. If you visit the author's website, you can see her art gallery of many of the animals she references in her memoir. Highly recommend!

Marcy Pursell &
The Puma Years by Laura Coleman

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Marcy Pursell &The Puma Years by Laura Coleman

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Marcy Pursell &
The Puma Years by Laura Coleman