Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks

Name: Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks
Brand: Riverhead Books
SKU: 9780593855348
Price: 38.40 USD
Availability: InStock

$38.40

Product Variants

Biographical Note:
Angelica Glass had a decades-long career in social work in California, culminating in directing and helping to design a program that provides support and services to children and families affected by methamphetamine abuse. The mother of two grown sons, she lives with her wife in Santa Cruz, California.

Review Quotes:
Praise for Scavenging Beauty

"Glass draws readers into a compelling and unforgettable family story ... quietly powerful, this one is pure gold." - Booklist STARRED review

"I'm not sure why Angelica Glass decided to write Scavenging Beauty, but I am certain that it hit home with me. This is a magnificent account of humanity that should prompt all who read it to take a walk through their life and give it the time, credit, and understanding that it and we as individuals deserve. Enjoy the journey." - David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author of Nash Falls

"Striking...a winning testament to the transformative power of curiosity. Readers will be pleased they walked so many miles in the author's shoes." -Publishers Weekly

"In her debut memoir, Glass chronicles her years-long project of walking on every street in Santa Cruz County, California, which embedded her in a verdant natural world and afforded much quiet time for reflection. . . .Raw and harrowing memories, gracefully recounted." - Kirkus Reviews

"A moving excavation of the long tail of family trauma and the healing power of a long walk." - Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment

"Angelica Glass has written an extraordinary memoir of a harrowing childhood and the healing and transformation she experienced while walking every single street in Santa Cruz County. This is beautiful nature writing, coupled with depth and insight into trauma, forgiveness and especially love. This book inspires as it charms." -Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author of Somehow

"Scavenging Beauty is utterly, astonishingly good. Angelica Glass takes us from the disordered ecosystem of a difficult childhood though the healing perfection of the natural world, all of it is suffused with nuance, compassion, and a curiosity that overflows its banks. This is among the best memoirs in this genre. I'm a better person for having read it." -Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich and Wreck

"A good walk sharpens the eye, and Angelica Glass has made a raw, crystal-clear amble out of her life. Her steps will make you want to stand up from your chair and set off through your own life." -Craig Childs, author of The Wild Dark

Publisher Marketing:
In this beguiling memoir of discovery and transformation, a woman walks every street in Santa Cruz County, California, and finds unexpected healing

Angelica Glass spent decades as a social worker helping families struggling with poverty, addiction, abuse and neglect. Needing relief from work-related stress, she turned to walking as an outlet. What began as a way to incorporate more exercise into her busy life transformed into something extraordinary: a years-long odyssey in which Glass drew upon physical exercise, a close observation of the natural world, and long periods of introspection to reconcile with her own past.

Between moments of awe as she explored her community and documented what she saw with her camera, she grappled with the turmoil of her early years in a complicated, challenging family, the aging process, long-held insecurities, and grief.

Whether wandering through residential neighborhoods, over redwood-strewn mountain passes, or along the seashore, Glass found solace and developed a growing sense of peace. By looking to the natural world to suture old wounds -- by scavenging beauty on her terms -- she came to understand what it means to feel whole.

Review Citations: