Multispecies Memoir: The Work of Ethical Reasoning and Grief Integration

Abstract

This review reads Whispers From the Wild as a “wildlife” sanctuary memoir that functions as narrative ethics-in-practice. Drawing on narrative theory, the analysis explores how long-form memoir can function as a self-curated archive exploring commitment, ethical reasoning, and grief integration across decades of animal caregiving. Persistent themes include multispecies family-making, imperatives to prolong life, interspecies spirituality, and protective care through moral opposition. Rather than offering ethical conclusions, the memoir reveals how ethical meaning is lived, narrated, and continually reworked. In doing so, the book contributes to emerging scholarship on the challenges of animal-centric vocations and animal ethical mourning.