Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark

by Leigh Ann Henion

Audiobook Download -
🎧Listening Length = 8 hours and 30 minutes

On this imperiled planet, nature’s magic still exists, often in the places we least expect it.

Night Magic is a glorious celebration of the dark! New York Times bestselling nature writer Leigh Ann Henion makes the case for embracing night as a profoundly beautiful part of the world we inhabit—and she invites us to leave our well-lit homes and step outside. It turns out we don’t have to go far to find marvels: We are surrounded by animals that rise with the moon, gigantic moths, and nocturnal blooms that reveal themselves, incrementally, as light fades. In her quest to know night with greater intimacy, Henion travels through forests alight with bioluminescent mushrooms and mountain valleys teeming with migratory salamanders. She ventures into the dark alongside naturalists, biologists, primitive-skills experts, and others who’ve dedicated their lives to cultivating relationships with darkness and the creatures who depend on it.

Every page of this lyrical book feels like an opportunity to ask: How did I not know about this before? For example, we learn that it can take hours, not minutes, for human eyes to reach full night vision capacity. And that there are thousands of firefly species on earth, each with flash patterns as unique as fingerprints—with one million tourists making pilgrimages to witness synchronous fireflies every year. In this age of increasing artificial light, Night Magic is an invitation to focus on the biodiversity that surrounds us. We do not need to stargaze into the distant cosmos or to dive into the depths of oceans to find awe in the dark—when we reclaim night, dazzling wonders can be found in our own backyards.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Animals, Audiobook, Book Club, Environment

Audiobook

Published September 24, 2024

About the author

Leigh Ann Henion is the author of Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, forthcoming September 24, 2024. Her first book, Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World, was a New York Times bestseller. Henion’s writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Backpacker, and a variety of other publications. She is a former Alicia Patterson Fellow, and her work is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She lives in the mountains of North Carolina.

Reviews

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️


In Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, author Leigh Ann Henion combines scientific facts with her own life experiences, ‘lore and much more as she takes us across the landscape of Appalachia exploring the magical beauty of the nocturnal world and the living creatures that thrive after the sun sets.

“Darkness turns familiar landscapes strange, evoking awe by its very nature, in ways that meet people wherever they stand. In Appalachia, as everywhere, night offers a chance to explore a parallel universe that we can readily access, to varying degrees. Nocturnal beauty can be found not only by stargazing into the distant cosmos or diving into the depths of oceans, but by exploring everyday realms of the planet we inhabit.”

The author writes beautifully with a reverent appreciation for nature in all its wonder. A running theme in this stressing how artificial light pollution and the use of blue light technology are negatively impacting the ecosystem and living creatures who thrive in the darkness. The author’s exploration of how we human beings perceive, resist and experience darkness is both insightful and thought-provoking.

My favorite segments were those on synchronous fireflies, the screech owl, moon gardens and foxfire. I only wish the text had been supplemented with actual imagery.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a fascinating read. Finally, just look at that beautiful cover!

Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book was published on September 24, 2024.

“May we learn to love darkness as our ancestors learned to love light, so that we might play a role in nature’s reliable cycling. May we begin to recognize that, just as we’ve tended the lights up, we can tend them down—revealing wonders that are, in daylight, unimaginable. May we find our way back to natural darkness, or at least hold fast to the wilderness that still exists, so that we’ll be able to bear witness to night’s living riches. May we, as a species, relearn how to blink, letting both night and day have their space. Because it is only by the power of light and the grace of darkness that we’re able to rest and rise, then rest and rise again. That’s the beauty; that’s the blinking.”

#NightMagic
#LeighAnnHenion

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[Alex Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book felt like meditating on a bed of moss while someone shared insights and information with me. Loved the foxfire and glowworms most of all.

[Melissa Stordahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most magical, eye-opening book! Night Magic invites us to step outside our well-lit comfort zone into the lush realm of darkness that few of us experience anymore. Leigh Ann Henion details the natural wonders available to us when we overcome our fear of the night and explore the beautiful, active world that comes alive after sunset.

Each chapter delves into a different enchanting creature or plant: bioluminescent mushrooms, migrating salamanders, the fascinating variety of fireflies, giant moths, flowers that only bloom at night. We learn about gatherings dedicated to pursuing nighttime phenomena in ways that create an experience of awe, described as 'a self-expansive emotion, where the boundaries of a separate self are transcended to process a larger, complex reality.'

This book was so inspiring, asking us to move away from our screens and become aware of the richness all around us. It's beautifully-written, just meditative and peaceful but also captivating. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to Algonquin for this book!

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is too much "swimming in awe" and "only the poetry of what's been lived" in Night Magic. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love nerdy science and nature-themed books. But, this one was way too much sweeping glorification and not enough nature for me to handle well. I picked it up because it was recommended by a nature author I adore, Margaret Renkl. And, I believe that the book would have been wonderful if authored by this person. Renkl doesn't need sweeping, over-the-top phrases every third sentence to express joy in the natural world around her.

I appreciate the importance of reacclimating with the natural world at night that Henion tries to express. However, the style unfortunately grated on me. I hope others feel more comfortable in her poetic joy than I did.

[Alex Felisberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me love the night again. Quite afraid as a child, my current role as an environmental educator has already brought new affection for the dark, but this book reconnected me to it in a primal way. ‘Night Magic’ illustrates all the wonders of the evening hours and invites the reader to enjoy them, guiding us through the fear that people have of creatures like bats, moths, and frogs and helping unlearn our ignorance of their world and seek to protect it. For everyone, and especially those turned off by the night-life of clubs and bars, ‘Night Magic’ offers a map towards a much more comforting destination, if we should only take the plunge into the blanket of night.

[Nursebookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

NIGHT MAGIC
BY LEIGH ANN HENION

Nature writer Leigh Ann Henion takes us through the magic of what happens when the sun comes down. There really is no reason to be afraid, this book shows me the beauty of the salamanders, owls, bats, mushrooms, trees, and also looking at ourselves and find our inner strength to avoid burnout and remember to blink.

Henion provides insights to the world unknown to me, and I can assure you to many of us, our eyes will be opened to the beauty and wonder of the night.

This was such an insightful read for me. Enjoyed it!

[The Leppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about the importance of the dark/night. It goes season to season spotlighting living things (insects, plants, animals, and more) who need true darkness and are being affected by artificial light. The author does such an amazing job pulling me into moments to appreciate the dark along with her. I want to experience these things now myself thanks to her.

[Nicole Leigh Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely don't have words for what this book meant to me. It has reshaped me and my perspective about night, darkness, artificial light, nocturnal plants and animals, peace, rest, adventure, ancestry, the moon, the stars, and everything in between.

This may be, out of the hundreds I have read, one of my favorite books. I hope, hope, hope I can keep the lessons I learned on these pages close to my heart and my mind as I navigate the rest of my life in a world flooded with light where it shouldn't be.

If you want to be enchanted, amazed, and changed, read this book. I wanted to start trying to branch out to more non-fiction books on topics I'm interested in, and I couldn't have picked a more perfect one to start me on this journey.

This book inspired me to pull up the solar lights in my backyard, sit on my deck after dark to watch fireflies dance and bats hunt, to be more cognizant of the way light is impacting me, and to head into this winter season with a totally revised attitude. As someone with a seasonal mood disorder, this won't fix everything, but I now feel armed to mentally and emotionally make the most of darkness and nighttime, all the time, and to appreciate all the creatures that rely on it. What a wonderful world we all live in.

Thank you, Leigh Ann Henion, for embarking on this journey and writing about it so empathetically, intentionally, and beautifully. (And thanks for going on "The Wild" podcast so I could learn about this book in the first place! Cross-media promotion really does work!)

[Kara Paxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love nature, you MUST read this book. It is going on my list of all-time favorite non-fiction novels. I LOVED learning about the fireflies and glow worms, and the bats, but mostly the moths. I will someday attend Mothapalooza, but first, we are going to try to attend one of the firefly nights in the Appalachian Mountains.

The magic and the wonder in these pages was incredibly inspiring. I am changing the way I live my life to be more of a steward to nature and I'm looking forward to letting the darkness and the night into my life more and learning how it can change me.

These pages were beautiful and lyrical and never felt tedious. I don't read much non-fiction, but I will return to this novel as much as some of my favorite fiction stories. After growing up in Swannanoa (NC), near the Blue Ridge Mountains, this one felt like home. 💙

[Amy K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I'm very interested in the topic, there's way too much of the author in this book. No one is picking up this book to hear about your life, lady. I'm only a few chapters in and already find myself skimming over huge amounts of text to get to the facts and actual meat of this book. The author is also constantly reminding us how magical nature is, and...we know. This book would be much more impactful if she subscribed to the age-old advice of "show don't tell."

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this audiobook. I learned a lot and it made me think about so many things I had never given a thought to before. Also absolutely love that there is a moth watching festival called mothapalooza 💜

[Katie Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely turning off my porch lights!!

[Jonesy.Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Magic is such an wonderful book about the world around us as it thrives at night. There are so many wildly different creatures in the environments around us that enjoy an active night life.

I absolutely loved learning about fireflies in the appalachians. Especially the blue ghost which I had never heard of before. What an enchanting sight it must be to come across one on a moonlight night.

The wooly bear is a caterpillar that is incredibly common where I live with much folklore surrounding it. I have enjoyed passing on the knowledge I've acquired about them through this book. I am quite surprised how much they've come up in conversation and in friend's social media accounts since reading this. We here in Atlantic Canada are preparing for the coming winter, and there is a lot of insect folklore that claims to predict the winter weather to come, particularly in regards to snowfall amounts and temperature lows.

Salamanders have always been a favorite creature in our family. It's been such a joy over the years to flip a rock or log and find one hiding in the leaf matter. Learning more about these adorable critters was such a treasure.

There is a lot of focus and attention given to light pollution and how it affects these and many other critters in our environment, including ourselves. One section highlights a similar experience to my own in which an enchanting owl moved into our dark skies neighborhood. Located in the woods behind my home, we would listen to its calls at night with smiles of rapture on our faces. Then our community decided to abandon its dark skies mission in favor of an intensely lit up community center. Just like in this book the extra light drove this beautiful creature away. It is a stark reminder that our actions and choices have an impact on the broader world around us.

We must act to protect the incredible nocturnal species contained within these pages. So many are already rapidly declining such as the lightning bugs I have loved for as long as I can remember. A magical little insect that I want to survive, so our future generations can be just as enchanted by them as I have been.

I challenge you to go out on the next warm evening and give your eyes some time to adjust, then look and listen to see what amazing creatures you can take in.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want this book to end!! It was mesmerizing!

Have you enjoyed the Lightning Bugs every evening in this spring?

Did you view the Strawberry Moon this month?

Do you see the value in our bat population or do you fear bats?

Do you believe that living creatures/plants glow when there is no visible light?

Would you ever consider planting a “Moon Garden”?

When you read Night Magic by Leigh Ann Henion, you will reminisce, you will feel like you are walking the woods in the dark, eagerly anticipating what magnificent luminescent discovery is under your foot!

This is the kind of book I would read to give my kids (students) so they could experience occurrences they possibly would not otherwise see! Creating awareness!

This book gives us an opportunity to learn the value of what happens while we sleep in the deep dark woods!

Who cares, you ask?
Well, we all should, and Leigh Ann eloquently explains why, as she reports facts with her sprinkling of beautiful prose writing! Her writing is not sappy, preachy or condemning. She is appealing to our nature to remember what life used to be…

A beautiful book that has created in me a desire to see the world around me in a totally different way! Thank you Leigh Ann Henion for writing this book creating an awareness in this reader and in anyone who picks up this book and reads it!

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I read it slowly, but that was on account of my busy summer schedule post end of the school year responsibilities. I'm glad I read it slowly, as Henion's point is to be more intentional in our interaction with nature and the dark.

I like to joke about my cones and rods not really knowing what I was talking about. It turns out the rods in our eyes are what sharpen our night vision. We can train our eyes to get used to the dark and harness their full potentional. We actually have good night vision, but we spend too much time in front of screens and LED lights which affect our vision. And, of course, this same light affects animals and vegetation of the night. There are changes taking place at a rapid rate. One thing Henion pointed it out that is certainly true for me: when we used to drive at night, there would be all kind of insects on the windshield. Not sure any longer. Insects are being lost at an alarming rate.

The book is divided into three sections that pay homage to Spring, Summer and Fall. I learned about moths, bats, fungi, creating fire, fireflies and night gardens. It's all engaging given Henion lives where she is learning about all of this flora and fauna. A really enchanting book.

I first heard about this on Atlas Obscura. I recommend looking up the episode.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book that illuminated (ha ha) aspects of nature I've never even considered before. I'm aware of the concept of light pollution - it definitely gets in the way of suburban stargazing, but Henion reveals just how dangerous it is to so many species and our environment as a whole as a result. The ubiquitous artificial lights we use to dispel darkness are taking a toll like so many other human interferences. This feels like permission to not put up Christmas lights this year! Seriously, the fine writing here provides lots of interesting info about darkness and the species that thrive there, how humans can interact in ways that do less harm, and some really thoughtful reflections about our relationship to light and its absense. Henion spent a year seeking out darkness as a habitat in her southern Appalachian locale, which it turns out is a unique hub of biodiversity. Some of the life forms she seeks out are salamanders, owls, glow worms, moths, bats, foxfire and moon flowers. Darkness is literally a whole other world right under our noses and feet. She also delves into our relationship with the dark and how our human tendency is to dispel it. "The things we fear most aren't usually the things that wind up hurting us." 93 She learns the interesting difference between bioluminesence and bioflouresence - "bioluminesence occurs when an animal produces light through chemical reactions in its body. Bioflouresence occurs when an animal absorbs and re-emits light." (108) So many wise lessons and her own trajectory of personal growth come through too: "...instead of making me fret over the unknowns of this world -- like so many of the harrowing unknowns of recent years -- it gives me reason to think how marvelous it can be to discover them. And here, in the middle of my own life, when it might have seemed as though new experiences and epiphanies were and endangered species, I'm only beginnning to recognize it." 130 "If you're frightened by something, it probably means you have something to learn from it." (156) "Groups of bats in flight are known as cauldrons....many people believe that ... tales of hair-tangled bats have historically been used as a way of controlling women's mobility, warning them against leaving their houses after dark.....there's a function of fear that's useful. It acts as a reminder to give space." (187) "Is there anything more moving than awaking to wonders that you have been wandering among all your life unaware? Is there anything more hopeful than realizing that you've always been surrounded by sublime scenes, even when you were living through days and weeks and months full of despair?" 227 That is the heart of what this book is about. Darkness and joy are not mutually exclusive.

[Stan Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. The author takes you into the world of the nocturnal from salamander migrations to fireflies and bioluminescence. It’s full of wonder and will inspire you to turn out the lights and see what you can see…or what you can’t see. She talks about light pollution and human history needing darkness to survive. It’s truly an awesome read.

[Shannon Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! It is inspiring in so many ways. It’s easy to forget that an entirely different world exists after the sun sets, but this book is a great reminder of that.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. A fascinating and magical reminder to turn off the lights and enjoy the darkness every once in a while. 5 stars. Highly recommend.

[Lily Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very picky about popsci and this book slaps. Lovers of Braiding Sweetgrass will be delighted by this informative but reflective work :)

[John Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely idea and a premise that had lots of potential but far, far too much romanticization to be effective. If the intention is to look deeply and appreciate the ordinary in the everyday in the manner that it naturally exists, then why must we speak of it in ways that instead pulls our attention away from the moments you create.

[Anne Easterday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful! I find myself trying to convince everyone I know that they need to read it. I am inspired to turn off the lights and venture out to meet the creatures who live in my own backyard that I never see because they live in the dark.

[Mike M · Rating 1 out of 5]

In theory, I really like the concept. In practice, the conflation of poetic prose, prolonged tangents, fanciful first-person dialogue, rigorous scientific interjections, and pseudo-scientific analogies between them made this exceptionally hard to follow, let alone stay interested in.

[Lacinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting facts and information, but her story telling and writing isn’t the best. Seems like she exaggerates her own ideas, claims, and quotes a lot as well.

[Mikhael Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe four and a half stars. I enjoyed this, and I am thankful to have grown up in a place where things actually got dark and bugs and wild animals and plants were part of everyday (or should I say everynight) life. I'm still on a nature high after visiting some national parks, so this was a good book to fuel that wonder. Only critiques are that sometimes she tries too hard to be profound and edgy by romanticizing darkness, but like, duh humans aren't nocturnal animals so don't expect us to be as appreciative of the night as the day. I do appreciate that she came closer to balancing it yin-yang style at the end, dualism but make it circadian.

[Kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is lovely, so many wonderful nocturnal animals and plants that we miss because we don't enjoy the dark. This is definitely written by a poetic writer who enjoys nature rather than a naturalist who writes, but I think that makes it accessible to those not already deep in the science and natural world.

[Wendelle]

Wildlife encounters often evokes grand tales of transcontinental travel such as big-game safaris or exotic exploration, but in this calming and informative book, the author Leigh Ann Henion explores her own locality in the Appalachian Mountains and shows a whole new dimension of life that thrive in the nocturnal world-- revealing the awe of encounters with bioluminescent fireflies, regenerative salamanders in ephemeral pools, nesting owls, ethereal glowworms, cryogenic wood frogs, flower-loving bats, and more specimens that we stand to miss unless we let go of artificial light and embrace the darkness

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

While some of the author's previous work makes one long for far flung travel, this book invites you into the magic that is available to us everywhere.
What is the same is Leigh Ann Henion's gentle and poetic guidance into understanding science and the details of the natural world that leave you astonished and educated - and at the same time enchanted and wonderstruck.
My favorite type of media changes the way you see your own surroundings, and this hits the mark. Can I make my yard darker? What creatures might call that culvert home?
I recommend ordering a copy for yourself, and a spare to lend to friends, because this sort of magic is better when it is shared ✨

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My neighborhood has a screech owl, and this book made me feel like the whole block is probably full of cool stuff I don't know about! Every chapter was packed with serious science info that made me feel like I was learning and being entertained at the same time, which is my gold standard for nonfiction. There were even some touching scenes that made me care about things I had not thought about before. I usually read on a tablet, but I am going to buy this one in hardcover so I can read it again without having to deal with screen light. This was an overall delightful and inspiring read!

[Adrianne Mathiowetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder most winters, this book has been an awesome reframing of what the darkness holds and my perspective around "solving" this problem (lots of lights on timers, lots of lights in general, on regardless of if I'm in the room or not).

I expected a book full of fun hyyge facts about baby owls and cool bugs but instead it's really making me articulate and reevaluate what darkness means to me, and creating a space for me to question the value and let go of some of it. Highly recommend!