A review by sarabearian
Gone Feral: Tracking My Dad Through the Wild by Novella Carpenter

Novella Carpenter is the author of one of my favorite all time books, Farm City (see Goodreads review!) so I was surprised I had not yet come across her book, Gone Feral, a story about finding and tracking down her father. A slower, more personal read, we glimpse Carpenter’s early years gaining insight on how she was almost destined to one day write Farm City fueled by her predisposition to the living off the land lifestyle, even if in an urban setting. Initially setting off to reconcile a lifetime of on and off estrangement with her father, she ends up embarking on a journey of a personal level of letting go and acceptance. Rummaging in her parent’s past before she makes the life-changing plunge into parenthood, she discovers a truth about her father that shatters her almost mythological romantic notions of his life. By the end, Carpenter is healed from old anger and is ready to embrace motherhood with a new understanding of family and love. - Lisanne E.