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Moody Forest
For over a century an extraordinary southern Georgia family resists modern life to protect a forest, despite daunting odds. Around them, the world changes. Then the last owner dies and the property is up for grabs. Here is the story of a miraculous effort to save a forest, told by the people who love it and who were successful at accomplishing what they set out to do.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Janisse Ray
42 books276 followersis an award-winning and beloved American writer. Her work encourages wild, place-centric, sustainable lives and often calls attention to heart-breaking degradations of the natural world.
She writes the popular Substack TRACKLESS WILD, tracklesswild.substack.com.
Her newsletter for writers, SPIRAL-BOUND, janisseray.substack.com.
She is a sought-after and highly praised teacher of writing. She leads both in-person and online writing workshops, including a summer memoir course online, WRITE YOUR OWN STORY.
You can find more information about workshops and courses at her website.
https://janisseray.com/product-catego...
Check out her book CRAFT & CURRENT: A MANUAL FOR MAGICAL WRITING.
Janisse has won an American Book Award, Pushcart Prize, Southern Bookseller Award, Southern Environmental Law Center Writing Award, Nautilus Award, and Eisenberg Award, among many others.
Her collection of essays, WILD SPECTACLE, won the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence.
Her books have been translated into Turkish, French, and Italian.
Janisse's first book, ECOLOGY OF A CRACKER CHILDHOOD, recounts her experiences growing up in a junkyard, the daughter of a poor, white, fundamentalist Christian family. The book interweaves family history and memoir with natural history—specifically, descriptions of the ecology of the vanishing longleaf pine forests that once blanketed the Southern coastal plains.
ECOLOGY was followed by many other books, mostly creative nonfiction--often nature writing-- as well as poetry and fiction.
She earned an MFA from the University of Montana, has received two honorary doctorates, and was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. She has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Georgia Writer's Association.
She lives on an organic farm inland from Savannah, Georgia, where she enjoys wildflowers, dark chocolate, and the blues.
She writes the popular Substack TRACKLESS WILD, tracklesswild.substack.com.
Her newsletter for writers, SPIRAL-BOUND, janisseray.substack.com.
She is a sought-after and highly praised teacher of writing. She leads both in-person and online writing workshops, including a summer memoir course online, WRITE YOUR OWN STORY.
You can find more information about workshops and courses at her website.
https://janisseray.com/product-catego...
Check out her book CRAFT & CURRENT: A MANUAL FOR MAGICAL WRITING.
Janisse has won an American Book Award, Pushcart Prize, Southern Bookseller Award, Southern Environmental Law Center Writing Award, Nautilus Award, and Eisenberg Award, among many others.
Her collection of essays, WILD SPECTACLE, won the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence.
Her books have been translated into Turkish, French, and Italian.
Janisse's first book, ECOLOGY OF A CRACKER CHILDHOOD, recounts her experiences growing up in a junkyard, the daughter of a poor, white, fundamentalist Christian family. The book interweaves family history and memoir with natural history—specifically, descriptions of the ecology of the vanishing longleaf pine forests that once blanketed the Southern coastal plains.
ECOLOGY was followed by many other books, mostly creative nonfiction--often nature writing-- as well as poetry and fiction.
She earned an MFA from the University of Montana, has received two honorary doctorates, and was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. She has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Georgia Writer's Association.
She lives on an organic farm inland from Savannah, Georgia, where she enjoys wildflowers, dark chocolate, and the blues.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2021
This is a collection of short essays that Ray compiled in an effort to save Moody Forest, a large swathe of virgin forest along the Altamaha River that was protected as long as its owners were living but in jeopardy once they passed away (because the inheritors would have to cut timber on the 3500 acres just to be able to afford to pay the estate taxes; the land is worth millions of dollars). Fortunately, this is a success story; the inheritors put the land up for auction, and it was purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Georgia for 8.25 million dollars. The land is now protected.
Not all of the writing in this collection is good on a technical level; most of these essays are written by downhome country people who probably haven't done much writing in their lives; as a result, they get a bit repetitive in telling the same stories about the Moodys. But I enjoy these essays for the sense of community they invoke and the sense of place. The essay about electricity coming to the area and the way the community was responsible for actually clearing the path and putting up the poles and stringing the cable (all without power tools) was really interesting. These essays are interspersed with essays by professional writers and naturalists like Ray and Rick Bass (whose essay is really weird to me; I usually like Rick Bass, but his essay in this collection misses the mark for me).
Not all of the writing in this collection is good on a technical level; most of these essays are written by downhome country people who probably haven't done much writing in their lives; as a result, they get a bit repetitive in telling the same stories about the Moodys. But I enjoy these essays for the sense of community they invoke and the sense of place. The essay about electricity coming to the area and the way the community was responsible for actually clearing the path and putting up the poles and stringing the cable (all without power tools) was really interesting. These essays are interspersed with essays by professional writers and naturalists like Ray and Rick Bass (whose essay is really weird to me; I usually like Rick Bass, but his essay in this collection misses the mark for me).
August 18, 2020
Excellent Read/Plea for Action
The "outdoors" has been a huge part of my life since I was 12
years old, when my family moved (1945) from suburban North to rural Sourh. The SE, particularly central Panhandle Fla. and SE Georgia, has been my "stompin' ground" both personally and professionally (Open Pit Mining Geologist). I've seen more than my share of what happens to beautiful forests after they've been chosen for what's under them!
If you, the reader, have a love of nature, don't overlook Janisse Ray's books. Moody Forest is wonderful as are her earlier writings. Very important work!
The "outdoors" has been a huge part of my life since I was 12
years old, when my family moved (1945) from suburban North to rural Sourh. The SE, particularly central Panhandle Fla. and SE Georgia, has been my "stompin' ground" both personally and professionally (Open Pit Mining Geologist). I've seen more than my share of what happens to beautiful forests after they've been chosen for what's under them!
If you, the reader, have a love of nature, don't overlook Janisse Ray's books. Moody Forest is wonderful as are her earlier writings. Very important work!
September 16, 2022
If enough people want to preserve an old growth forest, it can happen.
September 14, 2011
I would love to read this book redone as a first-person narrative by Janisse Ray (like her other books) with bits of history and accounts from other people tossed in in story-form. Right now, it's just a bunch of repetitive accounts in more of a letter-form.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews