What do you think?
Rate this book
Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild
Through the Pacific Northwest forests and along the rugged coastal shores of California, Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild is a memoir of exploration and survival from a stunning new voice.
Dawn Again takes readers along on Doniga’s journey: as a troubled teen attending a wilderness immersion school where wildlife trackers and Indigenous elders were among her teaches, hitchhiking across the pacific northwest, the moment she first connected with a deer using owl eyes and fox walking techniques, and to Alaska where she fell in love with tracking white wolves and the rigor of wilderness survival.
With chapters on food, permaculture, and more, Dawn Again dives into Doniga’s real-life experiences while arming readers with practical knowledge. When Doniga tracks mountain lions with Erik, a rancher, she finds herself falling in love with more than just nature. She settles down on a cattle ranch on the California coast to start a family, and has to learn how to apply the deep, unshakeable lessons of the wild to her everyday life.
Dawn Again takes readers along on Doniga’s journey: as a troubled teen attending a wilderness immersion school where wildlife trackers and Indigenous elders were among her teaches, hitchhiking across the pacific northwest, the moment she first connected with a deer using owl eyes and fox walking techniques, and to Alaska where she fell in love with tracking white wolves and the rigor of wilderness survival.
With chapters on food, permaculture, and more, Dawn Again dives into Doniga’s real-life experiences while arming readers with practical knowledge. When Doniga tracks mountain lions with Erik, a rancher, she finds herself falling in love with more than just nature. She settles down on a cattle ranch on the California coast to start a family, and has to learn how to apply the deep, unshakeable lessons of the wild to her everyday life.
316 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
33 people are currently reading
519 people want to read
About the author
Doniga Markegard
2 books25 followersDoniga Markegard, author and regenerative rancher, has a background in nature and permaculture. This has given her a perspective on the real risks that we are facing as a species. In her youth she was mentored by some of the leading wildlife trackers, naturalists and Native spiritual elders. She spent years alone and with a small group of passionate youth in the Western Washington Wilderness learning the ways of the ancestors, immersing in nature, bird language, survival skills and wildlife tracking.
Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork, chicken and dairy supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 10,000 acres.
She is dedicated to finding ways to regenerate lands and community through ranching practices that build soil, sequester carbon, capture and purify water and enhance habitat.
Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork, chicken and dairy supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 10,000 acres.
She is dedicated to finding ways to regenerate lands and community through ranching practices that build soil, sequester carbon, capture and purify water and enhance habitat.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 24, 2018
I learned a lot while reading this book, and while I am grateful for people like her and I do have a bit of envy for her lifestyle, the writing was a little too self-important for me.
January 29, 2018
I was fascinated by the tracking, living in the wild, and agricultural aspects but I started losing interest during the romance/motherhood sections. The book finished strong though and it was very well written. I thought she glossed over the sacred relationship they had with the animals on their ranch and by not acknowledging that those animals have to be killed and butchered, the process was sugar coated. Maybe she didn't want people to feel squeamish but life isn't a fairy tale and if you're providing meat, no matter how well the animals are cared for when they're alive, you're leaving out a pretty big piece of the puzzle when you omit that butchering has to take place.
December 20, 2017
Doniga's memoir of her journey from hippie runaway to wildlife tracker to regenerative rancher is full of independence, courage, and wisdom. She has lived fully and intentionally in search of her authentic self, and a deep spiritual exchange with all that connects us with nature. This book left me full of admiration and gratitude for Doniga's truthtelling. It reminds me of Cheryl Strayed's Wild.
September 5, 2020
Doniga Markegard had a rare opportunity to experience an education in a outdoors school in the Pacific Northwest. This communing with nature lead to her vast understanding of the interaction of living and non-living; which resulted in her life long passion to teach others about nature and become a protector of nature. If you love wildlife and being outdoors and recognize our need as humans to protect and conserve our resources this book will not leave you disappointed. I love that she draws on the wisdom of indigenous peoples and cultures across the world to explain that we can all be givers to the earth rather than takers.
November 10, 2017
Read our author interview here: https://www.wanderingeducators.com/be...
The most powerful and important book I've read this year? No question. Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild, by Doniga Markegard, is eloquent, inspiring, and a must-read for any global educator. Markegard's memoir traces her beginnings from wildlife tracking to a more concerted effort of support and practical advice for wilderness education and living wisely on this planet. Through it all, her voice rings clearly for teaching about the earth, about the wildlife on it, and living responsibly and well. There is much to learn from animals and others - and Markegard provides a window to it, and teaches us how to listen.
Her exploration for answers is illuminating - and leads toward, as Markegard notes, bountiful permanence. From tracking wolves, living in wilderness, the slow food movement, permaculture, family, and cultural explorations (such as the importance of Standing Rock), Markegard beautifully translates her experiences and wisdom into a book we can learn much from - and which inspires us, in turn, to work and think and live toward a better planet for all creatures.
Highly, highly recommended.
The most powerful and important book I've read this year? No question. Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild, by Doniga Markegard, is eloquent, inspiring, and a must-read for any global educator. Markegard's memoir traces her beginnings from wildlife tracking to a more concerted effort of support and practical advice for wilderness education and living wisely on this planet. Through it all, her voice rings clearly for teaching about the earth, about the wildlife on it, and living responsibly and well. There is much to learn from animals and others - and Markegard provides a window to it, and teaches us how to listen.
Her exploration for answers is illuminating - and leads toward, as Markegard notes, bountiful permanence. From tracking wolves, living in wilderness, the slow food movement, permaculture, family, and cultural explorations (such as the importance of Standing Rock), Markegard beautifully translates her experiences and wisdom into a book we can learn much from - and which inspires us, in turn, to work and think and live toward a better planet for all creatures.
Highly, highly recommended.
November 1, 2017
Immersive and engaging. This is a beautiful memoir about growing up in the Pacific Northwest, alienation from a cookie-cutter kind of public education, and the experience of getting in touch with the environment immediately around oneself ... and the perils of a civilization that is increasingly losing that engagement.
This is also a great cultural document that records an aspect of California that you don’t often hear about.
This is also a great cultural document that records an aspect of California that you don’t often hear about.
March 10, 2023
Everyone. Needs. To. Read. This. Or something like it.
Dawn Again (put very simply) tracks the story of the author, who ran away from home as a teen to be with nature. She then found Wilderness Awareness School in the process, and from there, as she grew up, she learned how to connect with the Earth and be a part of it, later learning about permaculture, and growing a family in the process.
Reading this book, I felt many things - including anger and fear. How was it that I, among many others, didn't grow up as a PART of nature, rather than being separate from it? How can we balance the desires of our own lives with the lives of the trees, plants, and creatures around us? And is it something we can do in time?
What really hit me was the idea of permaculture, and how really the only known way to live a balanced life on this earth is not to make our own solutions to problems - including our own, such as the use of phones and cars. They're all so helpful to us and yet they also cause so many problems. So then we need to find solutions to those problems. And then, one way or another, those solutions will cause more problems, all for the sake of personal efficiency.
In turn, however, along with that fear, there is hope. While climate change isn't a solved problem by any means, awareness is growing and more people are stepping up. In the meantime, we can all learn to start by just observing the world around us, and going from there, slowly yet surely. We can't force change right away all the time, but we absolutely can make contributions to encourage that change.
This book helped me fully realize all of this for myself, and realized that while I may have grown up disconnected, there's still time for me to reconnect.
I will say, along with what other reviewers have said here, the author can come across as self righteous at times, and that definitely bothered me, but ultimately it's something you have to look past to get to the bigger message. I can understand where she's coming from, considering her life story.
So, overall, this book changed my way of thinking about nature. A solid 5/5!
Dawn Again (put very simply) tracks the story of the author, who ran away from home as a teen to be with nature. She then found Wilderness Awareness School in the process, and from there, as she grew up, she learned how to connect with the Earth and be a part of it, later learning about permaculture, and growing a family in the process.
Reading this book, I felt many things - including anger and fear. How was it that I, among many others, didn't grow up as a PART of nature, rather than being separate from it? How can we balance the desires of our own lives with the lives of the trees, plants, and creatures around us? And is it something we can do in time?
What really hit me was the idea of permaculture, and how really the only known way to live a balanced life on this earth is not to make our own solutions to problems - including our own, such as the use of phones and cars. They're all so helpful to us and yet they also cause so many problems. So then we need to find solutions to those problems. And then, one way or another, those solutions will cause more problems, all for the sake of personal efficiency.
In turn, however, along with that fear, there is hope. While climate change isn't a solved problem by any means, awareness is growing and more people are stepping up. In the meantime, we can all learn to start by just observing the world around us, and going from there, slowly yet surely. We can't force change right away all the time, but we absolutely can make contributions to encourage that change.
This book helped me fully realize all of this for myself, and realized that while I may have grown up disconnected, there's still time for me to reconnect.
I will say, along with what other reviewers have said here, the author can come across as self righteous at times, and that definitely bothered me, but ultimately it's something you have to look past to get to the bigger message. I can understand where she's coming from, considering her life story.
So, overall, this book changed my way of thinking about nature. A solid 5/5!
December 10, 2018
I love the story and I am a big fan of the author. What an inspiring tale. It’s especially exciting for me to read a common age story about a female, a farmer, and an eco-minded, and all life matters minded person. The reason why is because we are raising two girls and just bought a 10acre Farm. Those are the reasons I’m giving it a 4 star review. The writing in the first half of the book isn’t strong and at times feel like it was hard for her to tell this story. The second half of the book was slightly poetic and flowed much better. It was almost as if two different people wrote this. Regardless, it’s still an important document of an amazing woman’s life and journey. The best part - the story isn’t over. Doniga and her family are current day activists and farmers!! I’m sure there will be a second book! Or, at least, I hope there will be.
April 8, 2018
the beginning was riveting! I had a hard time putting it down. it was really fun reading about her honey
journey into tracking. it was also very cool to read about how tracking led her into permaculture. I would definitely read it again.. it reminded me to observe nature and pay close attention to the small things.
journey into tracking. it was also very cool to read about how tracking led her into permaculture. I would definitely read it again.. it reminded me to observe nature and pay close attention to the small things.
January 30, 2020
A great memoir that also makes a convincing, heart-felt argument for Holistic Land Management. Doniga details her wildlife tracking experience, the lessons she learned from Native Americans, and her transition to becoming one of the best regenerative ranching families in coastal California.
We need more people like Doniga, and her family, in this world.
We need more people like Doniga, and her family, in this world.
February 19, 2023
A step into the natural world through experiences of Doniga.. from a teen to a young woman and then as mother.
The insights, and ultimately the life being lived by Doniga and her family are, for me, very relatable … tracker I will never be but to be aware of our place, impact and how we tread on this most wondrous world and how we leave it is, for me, a prime directive.
The insights, and ultimately the life being lived by Doniga and her family are, for me, very relatable … tracker I will never be but to be aware of our place, impact and how we tread on this most wondrous world and how we leave it is, for me, a prime directive.
January 12, 2018
This book is about the journey of Doniga and her knowledge about wildlife. She shares her personal experience with animals and the environment. The text describes the personal relationship people can have with nature, and different ways people can get closer to nature in a respectful manner. One of my favorite parts was the experience Doniga had with Alaska wolfs. She made a close relationship with the wolfs which brought her back to Alaska time and time again. Unfortunately not all of her experiences were great. She found human trash and waste hurting and destroying habitats and the animals living in them, making it even more crucial to educate others about nature.
February 13, 2018
This was a really interesting memoir. The author spent time at a wilderness school as a teenager where she learned tracking skills. The book explores her connection to nature and her adventures tracking animals all over the world.
Great book!
k
Great book!
k
February 3, 2018
This book is one of the best that I have read in a while. It’s inspiring, thought provoking, eye opening. Well written and captivating. I will probably read it again.
October 5, 2018
Thought-provoking for sure.
January 30, 2019
Awesome book. Seriously. Beginning somewhat overwritten, but the prose smoothes out and couldn't put it down.
December 12, 2019
Great story that has me longing for a different life. Ugh. Now I'm trying to focus on what I'm grateful for and how I can get more wildness in my life.
February 5, 2020
An enjoyable and challenging memoir of growing up and discovering connection with the land.
December 31, 2020
Inspiring and grounding!
March 27, 2021
I struggled to finish this one because I wasn’t a fan of the writing style, but I do love this topic!
June 17, 2021
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. Part inspiring, informative but sort of self serving/I'm all that. She is an amazing person.
August 16, 2023
Loved every part of her journey from teenager to connect to nature.
March 12, 2024
This was a really helpful window into a relationship with nature and Indigenous wisdom.
August 23, 2021
DNF. I couldn't get into this book. I'm impressed by what the author has accomplished but I don't feel any connection to her.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews