The Will of Heaven: An Inspiring True Story About Elephants, Alcoholism, and Hope

by Debbie Ethell

THE WILL OF HEAVEN is the powerful true story of how one woman overcame a debilitating addiction - rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation research scientist. It was there she could finally fulfill her lifelong dream of working with wild elephants. Debbie Ethell became obsessed by a group of elephants in Kenya when she was eight years old after seeing them on a PBS nature show. Over the next several years, her obsession grew - until a group of school bullies left her contemplating suicide. By the time she was twenty-six, an addiction to alcohol robbed her of nearly everything except her dreams ... and it nearly took those too. Left with one final option and more judges in her life than friends, she entered a treatment center and then a halfway house, where she slowly learned how to live life sober. THE WILL OF HEAVEN vividly captures her serendipitous journey as she discovers an inner strength - not unlike that of the elephants whose stories she tells. Part biography, part revelation, this story will inspire others to reach further than they ever thought they could. Above all, it conveys a strong message of hope, both for the elephants fighting to survive poaching and for alcoholics fighting to survive addiction.

Genres: Memoir

298 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2019

About the author

Debbie Ethell is a conservation research scientist and former founder of The KOTA Foundation for Elephants, which was dedicated to increasing awareness about elephants. She has worked with organizations such as Friends of Animals, One Voice (Association de Protection Animale) in France, and the Nonhuman Rights Project on important elephant-related court cases. Debbie's writing and research have appeared in various outlets around the world, including Africa Geographic, Mother Nature Network, and several scientific journals. She enjoys public speaking and has traveled widely to share her passion for elephant protection and conservation.

Debbie lives in Portland, Oregon, with a dog named Jax and, occasionally, a wild Starling named Pip that she raised from a hatchling, who visits often, but who remains beautifully untamed.

Reviews

[Vicki W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was only planning to read the prologue - it was a busy day prepping for my daughter's birthday - but by chapter 7, I realized this was one of THOSE books. You know the ones - the story enfolds you from the start. They get under your skin. They change your life lens. They challenge you. You tell everyone you know that they "HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK" and then you feel guilty for being the person you hate, but this book is that grand exception. Seriously. YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. The incredible story aside the parallel structure -- the author's experience, growth, recovery juxtaposed with the elephants ebbs and flows, tragedies and successes -- was so beautifully balanced throughout. I laughed and cried, learned a lot, agonized over the evil that is humanity while also celebrating the beauty of so many of these people's warmth, open arms and hearts. I feel like I'm blathering, but I really really really loved this book. Please read it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me right from the beginning. It was so beautifully written connecting the life of a struggling addict on her road to recovery with that of a magnificent group of elephants. I fell in love with both stories.

[Justine Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Compelling story of addiction, hope and recovery. Plus fascinating and deeply moving stories about the lives of elephants. You will love the way the author weaves theses two worlds together and you won’t want to put the book down. Can’t wait for book 2 as there is surely so much more to share. Wonderful!!

[Debra Lukan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Will of Heaven is a read you can't put down... you can't stop thinking about....and it will stay with you long after you are done reading. As a person who is drawn to real life stories... the story of Debbie Ethell is one not many (if any) can say they have lived. I love how the book intertwines with her fight to sobriety and her commitment in fighting for the elephants who ultimately helped her find her way to freedom. The parallels of love and fight create a lasting impression. This is a book that will give you hope, in that with Debbie's determination elephants just might have a fighting chance. If you have someone in your life who may be struggling hopefully Debbie's story will help you to believe they too may also have a fighting chance.

This read is worth your time ... I absolutely give you my heartfelt promise.

[Cari Zoebelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the BEST books I've read in a long time!!! I couldn't put it down everytime I sat down to read it. The way Debbie writes made it feel like I was right there with her seeing all of the elephants and feeling what she was feeling each time. Even when she wrote about her revovery journey I felt the pain and joy as well. What an inspiring story!! I can't wait for books #2 & 3!!!

[dan lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I just could not put down. On the one hand it is Debbie Ethel’s brutally honest account of her journey through alcoholism which she tells with such frankness but also humor. On the other hand she tells an absolutely fascinating story about elephants. I never realized how intelligent they are and how they help each other in ways none of us could ever have imagined. This book is my unexpected gem of the year.

Dan Lacey

[Dave Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good author will take you someplace you have never been before. Show you things you didn't see before. Expose you to new understandings. Debbie does this and more. She opens you to a world of sentient beings not so different than ourselves and brings you into that world and ties it back to ours.
I loved it. Two thumbs up.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember the last time a book made me cry. I don't remember the last time I read a memoir that I couldn't put down. The Will of Heaven, by Debbie Ethell, managed to do both. Her story of overcoming a debilitating addiction to alcohol and fulfilling a lifelong dream of working with wild elephants is nothing less than extraordinary.

Ethell fell in love with elephants when she was eight years old. She saw an interview with Daphne Sheldrick, founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, whose mission was to establish and maintain a Kenyan reserve for elephants who were victims of ivory poaching in the 1970s and 1980s. Their goal was to save injured elephants and orphaned babies and release them back into the wild. Ethell was obsessed with these creatures and and started following their lives. She kept a journal of each elephant she was introduced to, beginning with Eleanor. As Ethell put it, “this was a hobby with a few elephants that blossomed into a large research project with nearly 400.”

No different than the abused elephants, Ethell also fell in love with alcohol to numb herself when school bullying rendered her contemplating suicide. By the time she was twenty-six she was a full blown alcoholic and had lost touch with everything she had cared about.

In The Will of Heaven, Ethell is not gentle as she describes her ugly downhill slide into alcoholism. By the time she was 26, Ethell says she had been arrested more times than she could remember and she had more judges in her life than friends. Alcoholism had robbed her of everyone and everything she had once cared about. When she had run out of every other option, Ethell moved into the treatment facility that changed her life. She lived there a year and moved to a half-way house for another year. Slowly her life began to turn around and she was able to see a future without alcohol. Once she was on her own, she opened her own very profitable business. Sober and supporting herself, she knew something important was missing: the elephants! If she could find a way to include them her life would mean something. That story is The Will of Heaven!

From the first page we are drawn into the dual worlds of the African elephants Ethell loves and her struggle as an alcoholic whose life is out of control. We are exposed to the two worlds of horrific suffering. We learn about Sheldriks and their unimaginable foresight and determination to start rescuing the elephants. We begin to understand how fascinating, intelligent and caring elephants are. In their natural environment they show a “humanity” for other elephants beyond what many humans show for each other. Their warmth and strength was what Ethell needed to meet her own challenges.

This was a tough story to tell and Ethell's writing was definitely up to the challenge. Because she began keeping journals following elephants and their handlers her writing is hauntingly beautiful and retains that innocent love of the child and her fascination with something so foreign. When she talks about her struggle with alcohol it is impossible to not ache for her. When you are hurting for her and the elephants, you cannot put the book down. She never becomes maudlin or self-serving. Her pain, anxiety and compassion are real. Her honest account of her battle with alcoholism, the fight of the elephants from being fodder for ivory hunters, and, finally, the necessity of starting over, doing the things many of us take for granted.

After flunking out of every school she had attended because of her drinking, Ethell knew she needed a college education. She had to set aside her 41-years-old ego. Her biggest steps were to sign up for a remedial math class and learn to simply juggle a city bus system. She found patience she never knew she had. It was two years before she even got near her first science class. But, she was so determined. At one point, I wondered whether her fight for her own survival and eventually her fight for the elephants could have happened without the other. I don't think so.

The Will of Heaven is a great book, the unexpected gem that I didn't want to end. Long after I have finished reading it, I realized that it was a book that wasn't going to let go of me. Debbie Ethell's debut into the world of published writing is a gift to all of us. She says this is the first of three and I am ready for Part Two!

[Ed Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a spell inducing read. Debbie captures her obsession with Elephants, obsession with drugs and alcohol and her life recovery cycles with a depth of vision not usually experienced by new or experienced writers. He story details a life of living and living a life that creates goals, aspirations and objectives dreamed and achieved while fighting a plethora of demons. I understand alcoholism. I understand it's codependents actors and its actions. Debbie does too. And she expresses it as well as any I listen to in print. Hard to put this book down. Period.

[Debra M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am almost done with this book and can’t put it down! The woven story lines are intertwined very well. I have cried as I have learned so much more about elephants then I ever knew. The journey she went through in overcoming addiction is a compelling one. You almost feel like you are on this journey with her. It’s a must read and full inspiration.

[Carin Counihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Ethell's book took me away on the first page. I was on an adventure to Africa and to her struggle with a disease and coming out on the other side. A page turner that keeps you glued to the next page. A book you will not be disappointed in. Light hearten but serious at the same time. I was sad for the book to end. I wanted more! Trust me and get the book!

[Mike Weedall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Ethell writes a compelling story of her personal struggles and growth, shaped around her passion for saving an endangered species. Her courage in sharing the most personal elements of her life is impressive. Her commitment going forward to the plight of elephants is truly impressive. Well-written and a true page-turner.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book of tragedy to hopefulness. This is a great book full of authors personal experiences in her life. Her adventures take us from small town in Oregon to the wilds of Africa. Don't let the title deceive you, this is definitely not a religious book. However, it does weave the threads of Debbie's Higher Power throughout the entire book.

[Ernest Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing true miracle story of a woman never abandoned by Alcoholics Anonymous, despite her seemingly hopeless past. Her recovery led to a lifelong passion for elephants which contributed, and is still contributing, to the life extension of the elephant species, a keystone species for all animal life in Africa, and for our planet. - Pete Z. , Portland, Oregon

[Robert Bodine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and found the Elephant stories mesmerizing! There are many things I did not kn ok w prior to reading this book. There is also a generous helping of inspiration in the author's trials. This is a very good read!

[Shannon Anastasiadis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an extraordinary story. Debbie inspires with her commitment to caring for herself and for the elephants - her elephants. This amazing book guides the reader into the suffering worlds of both the elephants and the alcoholic. Humbling and touching. Please read it - you won't be disappointed.

[Terry Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a miracle

An easy read, this book is not easy to read. Well written, it tells of the struggle for humanity and sanity. I was amazed by the things I learned about elephants, but also about things I learned about the human heart.

[Melinda Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book! I had to read it in small doses as my animal loving heart could not take the elephant stories!! I love how the author weaves her personal addiction story in with her passion for elephants.

[Brian Schindler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debbie Ethell does an amazing job with this amazing story

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down. I love elephants so much, and there was tons of info about them in this story. Great writing/story telling. Can't wait to read the next

[Sean Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating story. Well written. Who knew a story about elephants and a recovering addict would be so captivating? Good job Debbie Ethel!

[Linda Berens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because it's a local (to me) author and I work at a used bookstore. I loved it!

[Alyssa Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Really loved this book and had a chat with the author Debbie Ethell via email about her life and dreams and elephants. My dream one day to make it to see elephants in the wild

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the stories of the elephants but found the narration jumbled as a whole with touch too much syrupy self-help too stomach.

[Eileen Rose McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing true story! My Mom collected countless elephants: figurines, art, and home decor, in her advanced age, including this book. "Why?" I wondered. She is an avid reader. My husband & I were volunteering as her caregivers 24/7 for well over a year when I decided to find out. I loved the watercolor cover and was intrigued. My mother's name is Daphne like a prominent figure in the book! Sadly, my distant beloved, brother was an alcoholic as was the author. So I put up with a few swear words and graphic descriptions of alcoholism and elephant poaching only to feel richly blessed to learn of the healing process of both! My mother miraculously overcame ten hospitalizations, rehab, and "graduated" from hospice back to Assisted Living, during Covid, no less. We feel blessed to have this healing time together. Yet, knowing at 89, she is near death's door, I was comforted by the author's explanation of what it is that an elephant never
forgets!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly an inspiration as Debbie shares her additional battle... that she won! How elephants gave her the strength to meet her challenges. Well written and a can't put it down book!!