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Nightfaring: In Search of the Disappearing Darkness

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At a time of personal crisis, travel writer and ‘dark sky’ advocate Megan Eaves-Egenes turned to the stars for solace. But those same stars, which have guided humankind since the very earliest cultures, are vanishing. As nocturnal cities bleach our skies – which are becoming 10% brighter every year – are we also losing our connection with everything that can come from darkness too?

To explore her deep curiosity about the night sky, Eaves-Egenes embarks on a journey that takes her from New Zealand to Uzbekistan, Ireland to Argentina, the Himalaya to Japan, discovering the many ways that different cultures have mapped, mythologised and feared the darkness. She meets the extraordinary communities that have made it their mission to understand, preserve and celebrate the beauty of their night skies, learning to see darkness in a whole new way.

Blending travel with myth, history and self-discovery, Nightfaring is a profound and often startling journey through the endangered night, revealing its capacity to enchant and connect us.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2026

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About the author

Megan Eaves-Egenes

1 book15 followers
Megan Eaves-Egenes is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer whose work explores the intersections of landscape, culture, and the natural world. A passionate advocate for dark skies, she is the editor of DarkSky International’s Nightscape magazine and founded Dark Sky London, a community group focused on light pollution awareness. For many years, Megan was the North and Central Asia Editor at legendary travel publisher Lonely Planet and she has written about travel and place for the BBC, National Geographic, AFAR, The Times and others. Originally from the dark-sky deserts of New Mexico, she now lives in London.

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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
26 reviews2 followers
November 28, 2025
I had the pleasure of reading a review copy of this wonderful book and I can’t praise it enough. The discussion on the need to protect the night sky and fight off light pollution is contextualised within a travel log and filled with personal accounts. It made me want to travel to all those places, experience those things, and embrace the darkness!
Profile Image for Emily Winterburn.
93 reviews4 followers
February 17, 2026
I liked this and have reviewed it for Sky at Night (March 2026 I think). The best way I can describe it (& I say this with love) is as a mix of "The owl who was afraid of the dark" and "Eat, pray, love".
Profile Image for Jeff.
1,792 reviews167 followers
April 16, 2026
More Memoir Than Science. In all honesty, one of the books I keep coming back to as an example of what this book *is* is Rachel Held Evans' Searching For Sunday, just a more explicitly anti-Christian one rather than someone who still considered themselves a believer in Christ but was searching for a version of the faith that made more sense to themselves.

Here, we get a so-called "Elder Millennial" or "Xennial" similar in age to both Evans (before she tragically suddenly died a few years ago now) and myself, though from a different area of the US than the Southern Appalachia Evans and I both called home - the New Mexico deserts were Eaves-Egenes' homeland. Like Evans and myself, Eaves-Egenes grew up in the American Church (she's never ultra specific on which exact version beyond it being "evangelical", but that can mean a wide-ish range of actual beliefs), but unlike myself (though similar to Evans in that Evans did become more open to the more mystical within Christianity), Eaves-Egenes ultimately becomes one of the so-called "Ex-vangelicals" who have seemingly left Christianity behind... and still seems quite bitter about the breakup. In Eaves-Egenes' case, the breakup was even so bad that she ultimately fled the United States at all for the nation that is the world leader in creating Independence Days - the United Kingdom - and this too greatly informs the perspective you will read in this text.

Which is why it is so important to understand Eaves-Egenes' background as expressed in this text - because understanding this will give you, the reader of my review, a far better look at what this book actually is than the description currently available as I write this review over two weeks after the book's release (despite having it since a bit before Halloween 2025 as an Advance Review Copy). Indeed, the book in the description sounds extremely promising, particularly as someone who is a fan of the work of Dark Sky International who has never seen the Milky Way... and includes seeing it on his personal bucket list.

But what we get here isn't the science and history based examination of dark skies and their significance to the human mind and body and to human civilization that the description leads us to think. Instead, what we do get here is more of a memoir/ travelogue about one person's thoughts and experiences with the night sky and darkness in general, and framing the book as *this* would be a much clearer picture of what the consumer is actually getting.

Which actually leads to both of the star deductions - the first, my standard "lack of bibliography" deduction. Clocking in at just 11% documentation, this simply isn't up to the even relaxed standards of 15% or so documentation and is barely half of the 20-30% documentation standard I once more rigidly held similar nonfiction titles to.

The second deduction actually leads from the first, as even I debate within myself whether the Sagan Standard - "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - applies here, but the statements within the text also involve at least some things that I was actually and legitimately an expert on at least at one time... and which Eaves-Egenes is 100% dead wrong about. Specifically, her "throw-away" line about the rise of Columbine-style school shootings in the decades since that event, which happened her Senior year of high school (as she recalls in the text here) and my own Sophomore year. Being so wrong - and so explicitly led by activist propaganda talking points, no less - actually calls into question every other thing she similarly proclaims as fact, particularly in light of such a dearth of a bibliography.

As a personal memoir, this book is actually very well written, particularly for fans of Evans' almost poetical prose. As a book of science and history... you're going to want to read more well documented source material. There really is a lot to like here, but there is also a fair amount that if your politics lean to the right of AOC or Bernie Sanders... you may want to defenestrate this book fairly early on. But don't, because the writing itself really is quite beautiful, and hearing from another perspective really does help us all become better informed and more well-rounded ourselves, as there really are at least some elements of truth here and thus at least some things that we can all learn from and perhaps learn to do better in our own lives because of.

Recommended.
Profile Image for Kelly.
1,060 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
December 31, 2025
Nightfaring blends many different things into a single book; memoir, astronomy, archaeology, culture, travelogue and to some extent, self-help. If you are looking for one of these topics specifically this book may not be the right choice for you unless you are willing to expand your horizons some. Consider this my warning to you in the first paragraph of this review. As someone who is a space geek, minored in Anthropology, and enjoys learning about different cultures I knew that I would likely either love or hate this book.

Thankfully I absolutely loved it. Megan Eaves-Egenes centers the book around the idea that civilizations around the world have looked up at the sky for centuries, using it as a guide not only for practical things like planting or harvesting, but also for making life choices. As light pollution continues to encroach on the few remaining dark skies we have left, it not only deprives us of those same opportunities, but can have dangerous effects on our health and the wildlife around us.

If you have never had the opportunity to look up at a truly dark sky, you need to at least once in your life, preferably when you can see the Milky Way. The few stars and planets you can see when you look at the sky from near a metropolis comes nowhere close to the awe and beauty you'll experience when you can see the stars our ancient ancestors could with your unaided eye. I've had the opportunity to do this in areas with very limited light pollution, like the Flint Hills in Kansas as a child, and in national parks like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon as I've gotten older and for me, it was hard not to feel a sense of awe and a sense that my personal problems are inconsequential on a larger scope. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I still am that my opportunities for observing the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere were dashed by clouds and bad weather in the Australian Outback.

Eaves-Egenes has better luck (and more ambitious travel plans!) than me. Throughout the course of the book she travels all over the world to observe the night sky and learn more about how the local indigenous people have their own constellations, stories and cultures associated with the stars, planets and Milky Way. She tells the readers that the Pleiades have always been her favorite constellation, and shares stories from the Dine (United States), Māori (New Zealand), Japanese, and Guari (Argentina) that all tie into the same constellation, but with a different name that fits within their own culture. Almost all are tied into planting season, showing how people all around the world with no connection to each other viewed the same sky and derived similar knowledge from it. No matter how different we are, it's a way of showing how much alike we are too.

She also ponders our fears of darkness and the negative associations that go with it, going as far as doing a full immersion in a dark room for multiple days to reconnect with herself, utilize her other senses, and learn to value what she sees once she is done. This experiment and others are an exploration that while dangerous things can happen in the dark, it's also an opportunity to perceive things and interact with others in a more intimate way than we often feel comfortable with in the bright light.

Eaves-Egenes doesn't advocate for nighttime hours without light, but she does advocate for having dark skies without light that are accessible, and for using light at night in thoughtful ways, not just for being able to see celestial objects, but also for our own health and the wildlife around us that are being impacted by it. LED lights are great for a lot of things, including not using as much electricity, but they are absolutely awful when they're left on all night outside, pointed up at the sky.

I really enjoyed reading a book by someone else my age that has an appreciation for the night sky and what it truly has to offer when you can see it without light pollution, And I felt a sense of beauty and inclusion in her invitation to me to see how people around the world treasure it too, and fight to educate and enlighten people to the beauty it has to offer.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Jackie Sunday.
876 reviews57 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
February 11, 2026
Megan Eaves-Eugene tackles what it’s like to be in total darkness and shares some surprising effects. However, first, she gives readers an overview of the downsides of artificial light.

She resides in London and said on a clear night you might see ten stars. Yet, when it was truly dark hundreds of years ago, one could see maybe 5,000. She visited the Royal Greenwich Observatory recently that began as a premier establishment in 1675 and helped with the navigation of ships. However, the observatory went through huge changes and had to close due to light pollution. It’s now a museum.

Megan gives us a lot to contemplate with the effects of total darkness. Who would think it’s great when many of us believes that light keeps us safe. Most people assume that it’s good to have more street lights in big cities with crime. She said, however, if that was true, then Las Vegas would be the safest city in the world.

She reveals how light influences all sorts of animals, birds, fish and plants. People fear seeing mountain lions, snakes, coyotes and wolves that come out at night. How many people are actually killed by these animals? She said a lot of fear comes from the fairy tales like “Little Red Robin Hood.”

She uncovers points about religious beliefs. In Christianity, light is truth, wisdom and goodness whereas darkness represents immorality and evil. She went to Nepal to learn about the Tibetan cosmology and modern astronomy. She mentions Chinese Daoism based on opposites that attract: yin and yang, dark and light.

Megan took a highly complex subject and brought it down a few notches so it’s easy to grasp. She shares her experiences learning about astronomy and going to dark locations to see the stars. She said, “Humans can see in the dark. It’s just that we rarely do.”

She ends by saying that the next generation is challenged by what’s ahead with light pollution. She mentions a group of students who are collecting data and writing reports. This is a topic that should be of interest as it affects all of us around the world.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC with an expected release date of March 31, 2026. The thoughts presented are my own.
Profile Image for Kari.
840 reviews38 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 26, 2026
Full disclosure: I am friends with Megan. However, I also really genuinely loved this book.

I have friends who have written books but I have never had a friend write a book quite like this! Megan immersed herself in the topic of darkness and light pollution and traveled the globe to consider darkness within different cultures, seeking out "dark sky" areas where the sky is more visible. As Megan visits new locations, she considers the history of astronomy, evaluates our ideas about safety, spends time in a darkness retreat, and shows how cultures are connected through their ideas about the stars. Sometimes when you read this type of experiential or immersion story, there are noted weak chapters, or chapters with a tenuous connection to the central theme, but I did not find that to be the case here. I was deeply impressed with the way she moved around the topic of darkness by examining it in several different ways and in different places, skillfully balancing her research and her travel. The book closes with Megan visiting young people in Chicago who are working to eliminate light pollution in their area and to give people in their community the opportunity to see the night sky in a new way, far from the lights of the city. It was a fitting ending to her travels, to see the work being done by the next generations.

I work as a minister, and I share Megan's concerns that in the Christian scriptures, light is praised and darkness is vilified. Instead, we need a balance. I reflected throughout the book on ways that the dark is restful, healing, and makes things visible in a new way. I once mentioned the dangers of light pollution in a sermon (in fact, quoted Megan in the sermon) and a congregant pushed back that light keeps us safe from predators. The chapter on the fear of the dark would have made an excellent response to that comment. Nightfaring is a wonderful resource for those who want to reconsider their relationship with the darkness.
Profile Image for Elisa.
4,471 reviews46 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 16, 2026
This is a beautiful, illuminating book about darkness. Including history, astronomy and travelogue, the author describes her experiences exploring the night. Why do we find the dark so unsettling? Is it cultural, instinctual or just a fear of the unknown? Eaves-Egenes travels around the world, learning and experiencing darkness, from the Ulugh Beg Observatory in ancient Samarkand, to many Dark Sky parks and locations and a resort in Okinawa. I traveled vicariously through her stories, told in a compelling, casual manner. My favorite were the four days that she spent in total darkness, in Germany. How can someone survive that? Fascinating. I’m very blessed that I live rurally and there is not much light pollution, so almost every night and early morning I love to stargaze. I could completely relate to the author in that way. She’s now given me even more to think about.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing.
Profile Image for Andy Krahling.
715 reviews12 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
December 24, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

I enjoyed this, but it was a little different than how it was described. Part travelogue, part romance, part look at darkness, part historical study of ancient astronomy and astrology, part look at indigenous peoples of the world. I get that the author is a travel writer, and those parts were the most interesting to me. I expected more of a study of light pollution and dark skies, which were talked about but not the main focus, which was personal travel.

It was a little hard to follow the timing throughout the book -- I was sometimes not sure when events were occurring or when they had occurred.

I didn't know that this was an issue; now I know that to many folks, it is.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.
Profile Image for Benjamin Booklover.
29 reviews
April 19, 2026
Nightfaring is one of the most quietly profound and beautifully written books I've read in a long time. Megan Eaves-Egenes takes a subject I hadn't thought deeply about the disappearance of natural darkness and opens it up into something vast, urgent, and deeply personal.The global journey is stunning. New Zealand to Uzbekistan, Italy to Japan, Germany to the Himalaya each destination adds a new layer to our understanding of what darkness has meant to humanity across cultures and centuries. The science, the mythology, the ecology, the personal memoir threads all of it woven together with such grace and intelligence.What moved me most is how the book holds two things at once: grief for what we are losing and genuine wonder at what still remains. By the end I wanted to go outside, look up, and just be still. A rare and luminous read. ✨🌌
Profile Image for Marjorie Dawson.
70 reviews12 followers
Review of advance copy
March 22, 2026
I purchased this book from Unity Books, Wellington, New Zealand on Thursday 19th of March 2026 - this is a reader's review, not an influencer or pre-publication review.

This is a fascinating book, part reflection on a life, part mediation on the fact we are losing touch with the night and darkness and the alarming impact this is having on our planet, Earth. Facts and historical figures are quoted and put into context and there is a full index. You will learn about the earliest star gazers and the affect Christianity had on old beliefs (not always for the best).

An insightful and recommended read.
Profile Image for Jen.
453 reviews
April 14, 2026
I don't usually rate books I read for PBC, but I did love this one. A combo of her personal journey/stories, along with a love for nature/preserving something so integral to our experience as beings on this great blue planet. As a lot of us are, I am struggling with (gestures broadly). I found respite in the time I spent listening to this book, along with following the astronauts on their recent journey to circle the moon. I needed that cosmic perspective.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
64 reviews5 followers
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
March 15, 2026
A dreamy love letter to the dark, Nightfaring feels like snuggling up in a blanket and gazing at the twinkling stars with a loved one. I read this slowly, savoring the profound insight Eaves-Egenes shares about the history of the night sky, the value of embracing the darkness, and why we as humans need to open our eyes to what we might lose if we don't start paying attention.
Profile Image for Matthew Savides.
9 reviews1 follower
March 12, 2026
Wonderful body of work that takes a deep dive into darkness, why we fear it and why it’s so important we preserve it. It’s a personal story but one that transcends that singular perspective, weaving tales of different people and times to create an important narrative.
13 reviews
April 18, 2026
The book is a blend of travelogue, nature writing, and environmental advocacy. It follows the author's global journey to understand our deep human connection to darkness and the impact of increasing light pollution.
Profile Image for Emma.
11 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2026
Couldn't put it down. A beautiful journey that shows just how connected we all are ⭐
11 reviews1 follower
April 16, 2026
The book examines how "disappearing darkness" affects ecosystems, such as migratory birds and pollinating insects, as well as human circadian rhythms and mental well-being.
10 reviews
April 17, 2026
Nightfaring" generally refers to traveling or making one's way during the night, with the term having a specific modern context in literature.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews