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The Fallen Stones: Chasing Butterflies, Discovering Mayan Secrets, and Looking for Hope Along the Way
On a butterfly farm in the Maya Mountains, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of the national bestseller The Tenth Island finds enduring hope during cataclysmic times.
Atop a hill in the rainforest of Belize, next to the ruins of a fallen civilization, a butterfly farm raises the brilliant blue morpho.
What starts out as the worst vacation ever turns into a quest to learn more about the first-of-its-kind farm when journalist Diana Marcum inadvertently discovers this wildlife sanctuary, which is supported by an international live-butterfly trade.
She quickly becomes acquainted with Clive, the whimsical British millionaire whose childhood passion created an industry, and Sebastian, the Maya farm manager whose stern expression belies a soft heart. Before long Diana and her partner, Jack Moody—new to being a couple—have moved into a long-empty jungle house, cohabitating with bats, scorpions, toucans, iguanas, and the vulnerable but resilient butterflies.
Just ahead, although they don’t know it, are a hurricane and a global pandemic.
This warm, funny tale of finding a way forward when the world seems to be falling apart is filled with the beauty of the natural world and a heartfelt cry to protect it—beginning with butterflies.
Atop a hill in the rainforest of Belize, next to the ruins of a fallen civilization, a butterfly farm raises the brilliant blue morpho.
What starts out as the worst vacation ever turns into a quest to learn more about the first-of-its-kind farm when journalist Diana Marcum inadvertently discovers this wildlife sanctuary, which is supported by an international live-butterfly trade.
She quickly becomes acquainted with Clive, the whimsical British millionaire whose childhood passion created an industry, and Sebastian, the Maya farm manager whose stern expression belies a soft heart. Before long Diana and her partner, Jack Moody—new to being a couple—have moved into a long-empty jungle house, cohabitating with bats, scorpions, toucans, iguanas, and the vulnerable but resilient butterflies.
Just ahead, although they don’t know it, are a hurricane and a global pandemic.
This warm, funny tale of finding a way forward when the world seems to be falling apart is filled with the beauty of the natural world and a heartfelt cry to protect it—beginning with butterflies.
219 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2022
3565 people are currently reading
5051 people want to read
About the author
Diana Marcum
2 books63 followersDiana Marcum was a Los Angeles Times reporter covering the Central Valley and the Sierra. She focused on personal, narrative tales that play out against the broader sweeps of poverty, immigration and, most recently, drought.
In 2015, she won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for her narrative portraits of farmers, fieldworkers and other Californians in drought-stricken towns in the Central Valley.
Diana Marcum died on August, 9, 2023, in Fresno, California, following surgery to remove a glioblastoma several weeks earlier. She was 60 years old.
In 2015, she won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for her narrative portraits of farmers, fieldworkers and other Californians in drought-stricken towns in the Central Valley.
Diana Marcum died on August, 9, 2023, in Fresno, California, following surgery to remove a glioblastoma several weeks earlier. She was 60 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 450 reviews
February 20, 2022
4.5 Stars 🦋
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
March 6, 2022
What a delightful book! It’s a warm, clever story centered around the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm, the largest butterfly breeder in Belize which supports the international live-butterfly trade. The author, Diane Marcum, and her partner stumble upon this wildlife sanctuary during a spontaneous getaway. Diane, a journalist by trade, is fascinated by the place, and does what journalists do – follows the story. She builds a relationship with the owner, and Diane and her partner are offered an to opportunity to live in the Belize jungle to more closely observed the workings of Fallen Stones and butterflies.
I’m usually really skeptical of memoirs that appear to be about a writer wandering off to remote locations to do in-depth research on a random topic that sparked their interest, with the secondary purpose of finding themselves or dealing with relationship issues. My general experience with books using this concept is that the whole thing seems unrealistic, the writer is really unprepared for what they signed up for in their remote surroundings to the point of negligence, or the self-involvement conjured up to address their personal problems inspires a lot of eye-rolling (usually it’s a combination of all three).
That was not my experience here though, Diane Marcum crafted a really enjoyable memoir. I loved her casual style. Her storytelling tends to meander at times and some of the sections about visits from friends didn’t seem to directly relate to the storyline, but it didn’t matter to me - it was just really fun to read. During her butterfly quest, Diane was working through a new relationship with her partner. She wrote about the emotionally complicated challenges of adapting to one another’s rhythms and needs in a calm way where I could really relate to the relationship (quite a feat given that they were navigating their new relationship in a remote jungle with no running water and limited electricity!). The jungle is a beautiful place but there are also a lot of creatures that make every day life uncomfortable…scorpions in the shower, bats in the kitchen, aggressive mosquitos, etc. Again, Diane addresses these little adventures in a relatable and often humorous way, but you can also sense her awe and respect for nature.
Fallen Stones is the most remarkable part of this book though. It’s a gem of a place that supports a dozen families in a Mayan village, has a kindhearted and insightful staff that works tirelessly to safeguard a piece of the Belizean rainforest, and maintains an important part in the environmentalist movement. Not to mention it’s covered in all different kinds of butterflies. I’ve always thought butterflies were beautiful, but I have a whole new respect for their delicate place in the ecosystem and their incredible resiliency.
If you want to do some armchair traveling to the Belize jungle, meet some the hard-working and passionate people behind an interesting industry, or just want to learn a lot of fascinating things about butterflies, this is a great pick!
Amazon First Reads - February 2022
I’m usually really skeptical of memoirs that appear to be about a writer wandering off to remote locations to do in-depth research on a random topic that sparked their interest, with the secondary purpose of finding themselves or dealing with relationship issues. My general experience with books using this concept is that the whole thing seems unrealistic, the writer is really unprepared for what they signed up for in their remote surroundings to the point of negligence, or the self-involvement conjured up to address their personal problems inspires a lot of eye-rolling (usually it’s a combination of all three).
That was not my experience here though, Diane Marcum crafted a really enjoyable memoir. I loved her casual style. Her storytelling tends to meander at times and some of the sections about visits from friends didn’t seem to directly relate to the storyline, but it didn’t matter to me - it was just really fun to read. During her butterfly quest, Diane was working through a new relationship with her partner. She wrote about the emotionally complicated challenges of adapting to one another’s rhythms and needs in a calm way where I could really relate to the relationship (quite a feat given that they were navigating their new relationship in a remote jungle with no running water and limited electricity!). The jungle is a beautiful place but there are also a lot of creatures that make every day life uncomfortable…scorpions in the shower, bats in the kitchen, aggressive mosquitos, etc. Again, Diane addresses these little adventures in a relatable and often humorous way, but you can also sense her awe and respect for nature.
Fallen Stones is the most remarkable part of this book though. It’s a gem of a place that supports a dozen families in a Mayan village, has a kindhearted and insightful staff that works tirelessly to safeguard a piece of the Belizean rainforest, and maintains an important part in the environmentalist movement. Not to mention it’s covered in all different kinds of butterflies. I’ve always thought butterflies were beautiful, but I have a whole new respect for their delicate place in the ecosystem and their incredible resiliency.
If you want to do some armchair traveling to the Belize jungle, meet some the hard-working and passionate people behind an interesting industry, or just want to learn a lot of fascinating things about butterflies, this is a great pick!
Amazon First Reads - February 2022
February 2, 2022
I would never ever have chosen this book. I dont read memoirs/biographies, I had very little interest in butterflies, and this simply isnt a book I'd have ever picked. But I read it, and I will be buying a physical copy to sit on my bookshelf along with all the other important books in my life that form a piece of my soul.
The entire book was absolutely enchanting, the writing is so wonderfully entrancing that I genuinely felt as though I was there in Belize, meeting all these amazing people and incredible creatures too. It is emotional and factual at the same time, and is a simple yet effective love letter to a place and time that I can only wish to experience someday!
The end of the book absolutely destroyed me, in the very best way. I sobbed and cried and howled. It's very easy, currently, to just live in this world day by day and say "it is what it is", but seeing the events of the last few years laid out on paper brings it home that we truly do live in interesting times - and I mean that in the full spirit of the curse. We have lived through multiple flashpoints, multiple world changing events that will absolutely feature in the history books of the future, and yet we are all expected to keep going even when the world was pulled out from under us in such a short amount of time. This book allowed me to mourn, mourn for the experiences we've lost, the beauty and the wonder that we've lacked, the journeys that we'll never experience, and for that I cant thank the author enough. Reading this book felt like looking into a world that we've lost, but that we can have once more if we all work at it. I will be visiting the Stratford Butterfly House in the next few weeks!
If you're considering reading this, please do. I have not a single bad word to say about this book, and a million glowing ones.
I dont have the words or the eloquence to give this book the praise it deserves, so Diana Marcum, if you're reading this - thank you.
The entire book was absolutely enchanting, the writing is so wonderfully entrancing that I genuinely felt as though I was there in Belize, meeting all these amazing people and incredible creatures too. It is emotional and factual at the same time, and is a simple yet effective love letter to a place and time that I can only wish to experience someday!
The end of the book absolutely destroyed me, in the very best way. I sobbed and cried and howled. It's very easy, currently, to just live in this world day by day and say "it is what it is", but seeing the events of the last few years laid out on paper brings it home that we truly do live in interesting times - and I mean that in the full spirit of the curse. We have lived through multiple flashpoints, multiple world changing events that will absolutely feature in the history books of the future, and yet we are all expected to keep going even when the world was pulled out from under us in such a short amount of time. This book allowed me to mourn, mourn for the experiences we've lost, the beauty and the wonder that we've lacked, the journeys that we'll never experience, and for that I cant thank the author enough. Reading this book felt like looking into a world that we've lost, but that we can have once more if we all work at it. I will be visiting the Stratford Butterfly House in the next few weeks!
If you're considering reading this, please do. I have not a single bad word to say about this book, and a million glowing ones.
I dont have the words or the eloquence to give this book the praise it deserves, so Diana Marcum, if you're reading this - thank you.
April 14, 2022
This was a wonderful travel narrative of Diana Marcum's vacation turned learning experience in Belize. She goes on vacation to the rainforest and ends up studying a butterfly farm and it's existence within an international butterfly trade. There is a brief interlude to her Belize sojourn to England to meet the benefactor and recipient of the butterflies bred in Belize.
Interspersed within are the author's commentary and insight into her sensibilities. As the author's blur lists her as a narrative writer, I would have expected a little more science about the butterflies. Maybe this was more of a narrative as she outlined her experiences from a sabbatical at Harvard to her partner Moody, and their trials and tribulations of their time in Belize.
Interspersed within are the author's commentary and insight into her sensibilities. As the author's blur lists her as a narrative writer, I would have expected a little more science about the butterflies. Maybe this was more of a narrative as she outlined her experiences from a sabbatical at Harvard to her partner Moody, and their trials and tribulations of their time in Belize.
February 25, 2022
That’s one of the bonus costs of poverty on top of its more insidious hardships—even if you do climb out, it can leave you a little nearsighted, not privy to all that is out there and with a stunted view of your ability to partake. (p. 115)
My sight has been stunted recently. I still find joy – and frequently – but there is also more dark than I would like to admit to. Fallen Stones has been a partial antidote.
In short, Diana Marcum went to Belize on vacation, fought with her boyfriend, made up with him, fell in love with butterflies, andovercame fought her fears.
Fallen Stones is a feel-good story with enough grit that I didn't feel like I was sucking a lollipop or drinking saccharine. Marcum did not sugarcoat her story. (Really, I ate dinner!) She described being eaten alive by mosquitos and being afraid of the bats and scorpions living in her home in the rain forest – but going on anyway. As she said:
Maybe [butterflies] were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life. So, screw it, don’t keep your head down. Soak in any warmth you can find, and then fly. (p. 80)
There is a nice essay on planting a butterfly garden, written by a friend of hers, at the end of Fallen Stones. (She and Marcum began planting a butterfly garden together when she returned to the US, days before the COVID lockdown.) You'll want to plant one, even if, like me, you're reading Fallen Stones in February, between snowstorms.
My sight has been stunted recently. I still find joy – and frequently – but there is also more dark than I would like to admit to. Fallen Stones has been a partial antidote.
In short, Diana Marcum went to Belize on vacation, fought with her boyfriend, made up with him, fell in love with butterflies, and
Fallen Stones is a feel-good story with enough grit that I didn't feel like I was sucking a lollipop or drinking saccharine. Marcum did not sugarcoat her story. (Really, I ate dinner!) She described being eaten alive by mosquitos and being afraid of the bats and scorpions living in her home in the rain forest – but going on anyway. As she said:
Maybe [butterflies] were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life. So, screw it, don’t keep your head down. Soak in any warmth you can find, and then fly. (p. 80)
There is a nice essay on planting a butterfly garden, written by a friend of hers, at the end of Fallen Stones. (She and Marcum began planting a butterfly garden together when she returned to the US, days before the COVID lockdown.) You'll want to plant one, even if, like me, you're reading Fallen Stones in February, between snowstorms.
March 8, 2022
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Beautiful cover on this one!
This book was like a warm hug. I know that sounds cheesy, but that is exactly how I felt reading it. Part memoir, part travelogue, part history...I finished it all in one go! Diana Marcum is a fabulous author. She's engaging. She's humorous. The way she describes the places, the butterflies, the history, makes you feel you are in the jungle with her. The people she meets along the way jump right off the page. Each one of them is a distinct character that will capture your heart. Not just a book about butterflies, there is so much more here. Friendships. Personal growth. Climate change...run (don't walk) and give this one a read as soon a possible!
**ARC Via NetGalley**
April 4, 2022
There is a charm to Ms. Marcum's well-written travelogue to the jungles of Belize and the locals she befriends. However, the exoticness for the readers who are strangers to this land and its culture, nature, or history is short-lived, with the tale meandering aimlessly. Every interesting anecdote - and the book turns into a collection of them with the main story thread disappearing completely between the first and the last chapters - is surrounded by descriptions of extreme regular activities.
May 22, 2022
All I want to say is, thank you Diana Marcum for this adventure!
It's kind of a travelogue and a story about finding hope and a new purpose in the midst of the Fallen Stones, a butterfly sanctuary in the heart of Belize and I was mesmerised and engrossed by the stories the author recalled. I haven't read many books like this one and it was a new experience. And butterflies are such beautiful and resilient creatures! 🦋❤️
I received an e-Arc of the book from the publisher Little A and the author via NetGalley.
It's kind of a travelogue and a story about finding hope and a new purpose in the midst of the Fallen Stones, a butterfly sanctuary in the heart of Belize and I was mesmerised and engrossed by the stories the author recalled. I haven't read many books like this one and it was a new experience. And butterflies are such beautiful and resilient creatures! 🦋❤️
I received an e-Arc of the book from the publisher Little A and the author via NetGalley.
March 30, 2022
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills, I don’t know why everyone loved this book so much? The hurricane referenced in the book description is not actually experienced by the author, it feels like clickbait. I found the descriptions to be rambling and I felt it lacked a “story.” I also really hope that some of her profit from this book makes it to the people she features at Fallen Stones
April 8, 2022
This is probably the first Amazon First Reads book I've actually read after getting it, and definitely the first one I read this close to the publication date.
It's also the first adult nonfiction I've read all the way through this year, and the first climate change nonfiction I've read that feels completely genuine.
Diana Marcum has a talent for making settings come alive. There is so much magic surrounding the butterflies and her world in general. I was making so many connections and speculations as I read, and as with many of my favorite memoirs I forgot this was nonfiction, despite telltale elements and information.
The characters are very well established and they each have their own issues that they're going through, creating multiple levels of conflict. I loved how in-depth Marcum is able to get about everything in her world from travel concerns to interpersonal relationships to family issues to climate change. This book has so much to explore, and I'll admit it's a little overwhelming, but in very thought-provoking way.
The details Marcum uses to talk about Belize make me want to be more fit so I can have adventures like this. My sister went on a group ecology trip to Costa Rica and I heard about all of the wonders there from her, and now I'm reading about them and regretting choosing not to go to Panama to doo something similar, which I also could have done on a group trip if I had felt like I was up for it physically.
I love the approach that Marcum had to learning everything as well. I feel like if I was as passionate about a certain animal or anything in the way she is about butterflies, I would also approach it by trying book learning first and then realizing I need to experience it firsthand instead.
I've also never thought about butterfly gardens specifically as a conservation effort (although I'm sure it's controversial in terms of captivity versus wild natures) but it makes a lot of sense that the something so natural would lead to other nature efforts in terms of everything that's needed to ensure survival.
The final clincher for me was how this book brings us back to present day in the end. Reading this, it's hard to remember it's not set in the past, in a time when the world was greener as a whole. It happened in late 2019 and early 2020, with them arriving back in the US on the eve of nationwide shutdowns. Marcum talks about the impossibility of writing this as a travel memoir in a world where travel is a fantasy. But in reading this, something that's set so close to when everything crashed, it reminds me there is hope for the future. There is hope for Diana to be reunited with her butterflies, and for Clive and Alli to return to Belize, and for everything to be "normal" in the near future. There is hope in this novel and there is hope in the world.
It's also the first adult nonfiction I've read all the way through this year, and the first climate change nonfiction I've read that feels completely genuine.
Diana Marcum has a talent for making settings come alive. There is so much magic surrounding the butterflies and her world in general. I was making so many connections and speculations as I read, and as with many of my favorite memoirs I forgot this was nonfiction, despite telltale elements and information.
The characters are very well established and they each have their own issues that they're going through, creating multiple levels of conflict. I loved how in-depth Marcum is able to get about everything in her world from travel concerns to interpersonal relationships to family issues to climate change. This book has so much to explore, and I'll admit it's a little overwhelming, but in very thought-provoking way.
The details Marcum uses to talk about Belize make me want to be more fit so I can have adventures like this. My sister went on a group ecology trip to Costa Rica and I heard about all of the wonders there from her, and now I'm reading about them and regretting choosing not to go to Panama to doo something similar, which I also could have done on a group trip if I had felt like I was up for it physically.
I love the approach that Marcum had to learning everything as well. I feel like if I was as passionate about a certain animal or anything in the way she is about butterflies, I would also approach it by trying book learning first and then realizing I need to experience it firsthand instead.
I've also never thought about butterfly gardens specifically as a conservation effort (although I'm sure it's controversial in terms of captivity versus wild natures) but it makes a lot of sense that the something so natural would lead to other nature efforts in terms of everything that's needed to ensure survival.
The final clincher for me was how this book brings us back to present day in the end. Reading this, it's hard to remember it's not set in the past, in a time when the world was greener as a whole. It happened in late 2019 and early 2020, with them arriving back in the US on the eve of nationwide shutdowns. Marcum talks about the impossibility of writing this as a travel memoir in a world where travel is a fantasy. But in reading this, something that's set so close to when everything crashed, it reminds me there is hope for the future. There is hope for Diana to be reunited with her butterflies, and for Clive and Alli to return to Belize, and for everything to be "normal" in the near future. There is hope in this novel and there is hope in the world.
February 26, 2022
This book kept my interest even though the author is kind of all over the place with time and space and descriptions.
May 5, 2022
As I neared the end of this memoir, I realized it was a love story to the natural world. The author, Diana Marcum, takes the reader along on her journey of discovery as she explores the world of butterflies. She meanders through butterfly world on a fascinating journey--learning about them and making friends of the stewards of these magnificent creatures. She doesn't stop with the butterflies though. She is entranced by many animals and plants that she encounters during her time in Belize. Those that she is not so entranced by, she learns to appreciate (or tolerate) in time---bats, snakes and even scorpions. The mosquitoes were a challenge but I was impressed by the way she was able to take them in stride and view the need to manage them as part of the price she paid for getting to immerse herself in the magical world of the jungle. This book is also a call to action with regard to climate change. The author helps us to see all that we have to lose if we don't take care of our beautiful world. So---it's a love letter and an inspiring invitation to act---in ways large or small. We can all make a difference. This is a love story that I am glad read. I'm fairly certain I could not handle the mosquitoes with much grace or acceptance. So--while I have no plans to live in the jungle, I do want to visit as many Butterfly Farms/Gardens/Houses that I can in my lifetime!
February 20, 2022
Full caveat, memoirs are my favorite genre! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this authors description of life in the jungle in Belize. I had the pleasure of visiting Ambergris Caye in Belize a few years ago, but never ventured off the “island”. Since reading this book, the jungle has skyrocketed to the top of my “must visit“ list.
I don’t often quote from books but this really moved me: “Maybe they were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life. So, screw it, don’t keep your head down. Soak in any warmth you can find, and then fly.”
I don’t often quote from books but this really moved me: “Maybe they were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life. So, screw it, don’t keep your head down. Soak in any warmth you can find, and then fly.”
March 8, 2022
I read this in one day. Wonder and wander. I didn't realize how starved I was for these two things until I read this book. Like many of you, I'm tired,scared, and sad. Our beautiful land and non human inhabitants are imperiled. Humans are dying from the pandemic and now we are watching Ukraine fight for its life. If I ever needed some hope, a glimmer of wonder, a reminder of good it is now. This book gave me that respite and it is with a deep breath that I push forward feeling just e rough renewal to find magic in my mundane. Tomorrow, we leave on a spur of the moment trip to see if we can see some butterflies in Pacific Grove before they leave. I'm also planning to create a butterfly garden. Read this and laugh. It's honest and lovely. What more do we need?
Note: she’s a great writer. Her transitions are smooth and her descriptions are perfect. I could see and smell and imagine myself there. I laughed and I cried and there are some characters that I will never forget and would love to meet and ask for directions to find the love and empathy they embody through their days.
Note: she’s a great writer. Her transitions are smooth and her descriptions are perfect. I could see and smell and imagine myself there. I laughed and I cried and there are some characters that I will never forget and would love to meet and ask for directions to find the love and empathy they embody through their days.
April 18, 2022
I really enjoyed this memoir. I learned a great deal about Belize and butterflies. There were times where I feel like the author spent too much time describing the people she met and interacted with, but overall I really liked the book.
June 3, 2022
the idea of this book sounded attractive to me.. i love the natural world.. i find some quiet spirituality to the flora and fauna of nature.. it's a poetic love affair that helps me keep my spirit calm..
but this book - is not that..
her story telling doesn't appeal to me.. i couldn't feel her connection to the butterflies, the landscape, the animals.. it reads more like wikipedia entries.. long, drawn out paragraphs on what caterpillars eat and if bats bite and what? scorpions can be poisonous? [rolls eyes]..
it's just like a boring journal of mundane events except it's placed in an exotic area..
not for me..
but this book - is not that..
her story telling doesn't appeal to me.. i couldn't feel her connection to the butterflies, the landscape, the animals.. it reads more like wikipedia entries.. long, drawn out paragraphs on what caterpillars eat and if bats bite and what? scorpions can be poisonous? [rolls eyes]..
it's just like a boring journal of mundane events except it's placed in an exotic area..
not for me..
January 5, 2024
I was browsing the nonfiction section or my local library looking for my next “teach me something” read when I stumbled across this one. The cover was beautiful and the synopsis sucked me in. Studying butterflies in the rainforest? Yes please. So, it came with me along with a bunch of other books I knew I didn’t have time to actually read, but what else is the library for other than a false sense of hope that, yea, I can totally finish all these before they’re due back. But, I did finish this one and am so glad that it found it’s way to me. I loved this book. The story was compelling, the characters (real people) were likable, relatable, and the way the author wrote them I felt that perhaps maybe I knew them too.
The events in this book take place leading up to and right at the start of the COVID pandemic. Now, before you disregard this book because you’re sick of reading about the pandemic we’re all not quite over, or through, or have yet to come to terms with in one way or the other, just know that this book is not a pandemic-centric story and is about much bigger and more important things. One thing, specifically. Butterflies. Still, there is more history to be discovered along the way. Marcum is a journalist that, at first, was only looking for a vacation, but instead found herself immersed in the culture of a forest in the mountains of Belize. She quickly found herself with a story she had to tell, called her boss, and settled in for the long haul. Next thing she knew she was moving into a bungalow and making friends with the management of a butterfly farm out to save the lives of a vulnerable species.
Even though this is nonfiction, the story is so interesting that I couldn’t stop thinking about this book when I wasn’t at home reading it. Marcum really knows how to craft a story to get her audience interested. Although there are bits of real life drama sprinkled in here and there, it’s relatable and the reader can easily see themselves, if not in Marcum’s shoes, at least along side her as she embarks on her adventures of knowledge to understand better the workings of the rainforest and how the butterflies fit into our ecosystem.
Although the ending is not altogether satisfying or wrapped up in a we’re-all-happy-and-things-worked-out way, it’s more than that. It’s real, and it lets the reader know that there is still work to be done, but that there are people out there doing it, putting in the time and the effort to give butterflies a safe home where they can flourish and fight against being labeled as endangered. It’s about more even than that, though. It’s about protecting an ecosystem and all the inhabitants that call it home. I don’t want to spoil anything, as there are quite a few things that happen at the end, traumatic and mundane, but I want to give you the chance to read them for yourself.
Marcum writes a novel that we can relate to, even if we are not fully committed to the same cause. Still, her work is oozing with charming storytelling that gets the reader so excited they might forget that they are reading nonfiction instead of magical realism. Marcum does justice to the Central American forests and weaves a story so full of beauty in the every day that you will almost be able to smell the humid air outside, listen to the sounds of the birds chirping, or even hear the flap of butterfly wings.
I find I’ve gotten a little carried away with this review and am not sure where entirely I lost sense and exchanged it for magic, but that’s what this book did to me. Although this is still nonfiction, and it truly does feel that way sometimes, the overall atmosphere of this book makes it great for nonfiction and fiction readers alike. If you’re looking for a story that will transport you to a different place all while teaching you something important alongside experiencing true human emotions, this is the next book you should pick up. Or, at least add it to your Nonfiction November TBR. Even if you already know a great deal about butterflies, many can still find Marcum’s story encouraging while lyrically offering a story that needed to be told, so it’s not just for beginners but for any butterfly enthusiasts alike. This book absolutely deserves a spot on your 2024 TBR pile.
Review originally published on ashlyreadsbooks.
The events in this book take place leading up to and right at the start of the COVID pandemic. Now, before you disregard this book because you’re sick of reading about the pandemic we’re all not quite over, or through, or have yet to come to terms with in one way or the other, just know that this book is not a pandemic-centric story and is about much bigger and more important things. One thing, specifically. Butterflies. Still, there is more history to be discovered along the way. Marcum is a journalist that, at first, was only looking for a vacation, but instead found herself immersed in the culture of a forest in the mountains of Belize. She quickly found herself with a story she had to tell, called her boss, and settled in for the long haul. Next thing she knew she was moving into a bungalow and making friends with the management of a butterfly farm out to save the lives of a vulnerable species.
Even though this is nonfiction, the story is so interesting that I couldn’t stop thinking about this book when I wasn’t at home reading it. Marcum really knows how to craft a story to get her audience interested. Although there are bits of real life drama sprinkled in here and there, it’s relatable and the reader can easily see themselves, if not in Marcum’s shoes, at least along side her as she embarks on her adventures of knowledge to understand better the workings of the rainforest and how the butterflies fit into our ecosystem.
Although the ending is not altogether satisfying or wrapped up in a we’re-all-happy-and-things-worked-out way, it’s more than that. It’s real, and it lets the reader know that there is still work to be done, but that there are people out there doing it, putting in the time and the effort to give butterflies a safe home where they can flourish and fight against being labeled as endangered. It’s about more even than that, though. It’s about protecting an ecosystem and all the inhabitants that call it home. I don’t want to spoil anything, as there are quite a few things that happen at the end, traumatic and mundane, but I want to give you the chance to read them for yourself.
Marcum writes a novel that we can relate to, even if we are not fully committed to the same cause. Still, her work is oozing with charming storytelling that gets the reader so excited they might forget that they are reading nonfiction instead of magical realism. Marcum does justice to the Central American forests and weaves a story so full of beauty in the every day that you will almost be able to smell the humid air outside, listen to the sounds of the birds chirping, or even hear the flap of butterfly wings.
I find I’ve gotten a little carried away with this review and am not sure where entirely I lost sense and exchanged it for magic, but that’s what this book did to me. Although this is still nonfiction, and it truly does feel that way sometimes, the overall atmosphere of this book makes it great for nonfiction and fiction readers alike. If you’re looking for a story that will transport you to a different place all while teaching you something important alongside experiencing true human emotions, this is the next book you should pick up. Or, at least add it to your Nonfiction November TBR. Even if you already know a great deal about butterflies, many can still find Marcum’s story encouraging while lyrically offering a story that needed to be told, so it’s not just for beginners but for any butterfly enthusiasts alike. This book absolutely deserves a spot on your 2024 TBR pile.
Review originally published on ashlyreadsbooks.
January 21, 2023
Very cute book based on the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm in Belize built in 1992. Great description of the history, the basics and plants/flowers centered around butterflies. Learned a lot more about butterflies than I know I needed! LOL
August 8, 2022
Great Memoir
I really enjoyed this book. My husband and I recently visited Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. While there we spent a good amount of time in the butterfly and bee exhibits. It was this visit that pushed me to read this book. I soaked up all the information I could about butterfly gardens and even went to Wentworth Garden Center to purchase 3 perennials to start a butterfly garden of my own.
I really enjoyed learning along with Diana and Moody. Diana did a great job describing the hardship and joy that The Fallen Stones
Butterfly Reserve went through. I also enjoyed descriptions of all creatures living in the jungle. I am sure I would never have been able to live in such a place as she and Moody lived in.
I highly recommend this book. You will learn a lot about butterflies but also a lot about the people of Belize.
I really enjoyed this book. My husband and I recently visited Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. While there we spent a good amount of time in the butterfly and bee exhibits. It was this visit that pushed me to read this book. I soaked up all the information I could about butterfly gardens and even went to Wentworth Garden Center to purchase 3 perennials to start a butterfly garden of my own.
I really enjoyed learning along with Diana and Moody. Diana did a great job describing the hardship and joy that The Fallen Stones
Butterfly Reserve went through. I also enjoyed descriptions of all creatures living in the jungle. I am sure I would never have been able to live in such a place as she and Moody lived in.
I highly recommend this book. You will learn a lot about butterflies but also a lot about the people of Belize.
June 5, 2022
Few interesting bits about butterflies
The book felt disjointed and rather like someone's not very exciting diary. Lots of little anecdotes that are of no interest unless you are the author. Shame, wanted to really like this book
The book felt disjointed and rather like someone's not very exciting diary. Lots of little anecdotes that are of no interest unless you are the author. Shame, wanted to really like this book
March 25, 2022
This isn't a typical book I would read - a butterfly farm? Who knew those were a thing... But this story was interesting, fun, disturbing at times, and short (what I really needed right now).
There were several quotes that were very inspirational to me, and part of me wanted to be more like the author and be fearless (except for snakes) and adventurous. But at the same time, sometimes I marveled at the naiveté of the author and her partner (they really didn't know the smallest scorpions are the most poisonous??) and was horrified by some of the things they saw in the jungle (a nighttime forest with hundreds of spider eyes reflecting back at them, and they were amazed??) and know I could never or would never want to experience that.
I loved the end chapter instructing how to plant a butterfly garden - and yes, I will now be doing so!
I'll leave you with the quote that resonated the most with me.
"What if I had stumbled upon the true purpose of butterflies? Of course, there was the role of pollinator... But what if they were also... Cosmic Post-it Notes?
Don't forget: be amazed.
To-do: be thankful.
Maybe they were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life... Soak in any warmth you can, and then fly."
There were several quotes that were very inspirational to me, and part of me wanted to be more like the author and be fearless (except for snakes) and adventurous. But at the same time, sometimes I marveled at the naiveté of the author and her partner (they really didn't know the smallest scorpions are the most poisonous??) and was horrified by some of the things they saw in the jungle (a nighttime forest with hundreds of spider eyes reflecting back at them, and they were amazed??) and know I could never or would never want to experience that.
I loved the end chapter instructing how to plant a butterfly garden - and yes, I will now be doing so!
I'll leave you with the quote that resonated the most with me.
"What if I had stumbled upon the true purpose of butterflies? Of course, there was the role of pollinator... But what if they were also... Cosmic Post-it Notes?
Don't forget: be amazed.
To-do: be thankful.
Maybe they were eye-catching reminders that, yes, there are powerful dark forces and heart-wrenching loss, but there is also beauty and color. There is life... Soak in any warmth you can, and then fly."
May 2, 2022
2022 bk 116. A beautifully written book by a reporter who becomes fascinated with the business of butterflies. Following visits to a British importer/exporter of the lovely creatures and his deep impression on the importance of the butterflies, the author spends almost a year living at his breeding farm in the jungle of Belize. This is the story of the people who earn their livings safeguarding the future of some of the rarest of these animals. This tale takes place in the year before covid and leads to the beginnings of the quarantine. It is a tale of how a place and an animal can have an impact on individuals and how it can provide hope in a world closed for business.
February 26, 2022
This is a lovely book. It’s the story of a butterfly farm in Belize and so much more. Diana Marcum tells her story and inspires to take a proper look at the world around us. I didn’t know what actually happened in a chrysalis. The caterpillar turns into a primordial soup and emerges as an amazing butterfly how awesome is that. Reading this book you get such a sense of the magical nature of the rainforest in Belize and the struggle to make a business work while at the same time protecting a small patch of the earth. It’s certainly not all sunshine and roses and covering up from the dreaded mosquitos is a must. Not to mention the snakes and scorpions. Throw in a hurricane and now a global pandemic.
Read
June 4, 2024I was saddened to learn that this author died relatively young. She sounds like such a vibrant and daring personality in this memoir. I enjoyed the stories at the butterfly farm quite a bit; I was less interested in the rest of her travels to conferences or to visit one of the farm owners in the UK. Still, there's a resiliency and energy in this work that made me want to keep reading. And, butterflies are awesome.
February 22, 2022
It’s hard to put my feelings about this book into words. It’s about so much more than butterflies. It’s about being kind to strangers, showing grace and love, not being afraid to step out of your comfort zone and find adventure, surviving crisis, making friends, kindling relationships and oh so much more. Beautifully descriptive, heartbreaking at times. I highly recommend this book.
April 14, 2022
Today I binged a book. I had a spa day so there was time to binge. This book was fantastic and what an eye opener about the life cycle of eggs to caterpillars to butterflies. Such a new found appreciation for the butterfly houses around the world. Really a great read about a land far away in modern times. I couldn’t put it down until I was done in one day. Great read!!!
July 18, 2022
Butterflies are great. Belize and its people are resilient and interesting. Book over.
Seriously though, the book did flit like a butterfly so it was a tad difficult to stay the course and get the point of the whole exercise. I was also surprised that someone who cares so very much about the envirionment and supposedly wants to inspire hope, was burning through emissions with so much air travel. Contact a local or two and have them send you the footage.
Seriously though, the book did flit like a butterfly so it was a tad difficult to stay the course and get the point of the whole exercise. I was also surprised that someone who cares so very much about the envirionment and supposedly wants to inspire hope, was burning through emissions with so much air travel. Contact a local or two and have them send you the footage.
May 16, 2023
I found this book on Goodreads's "42 New Nature Books to Connect You with the Wild" article, and several of the books on that list are great. This one isn't, and it didn't make me feel connected to the wild. It was more about the author and her fellow human travelers, which I didn't remotely care about. The book reads like a diary the author kept while traveling, so it's disjointed and choppy.
July 11, 2022
Sadly I was just not able to connect with this book, I lacked the enthusiasm for the subject matter. I enjoyed the beauty of the backdrop but needed something more exciting in terms of plot. I'm open to the idea that I missed something more metaphorical and meaningful, if so it was truly lost on me.
December 10, 2022
A lesson in Butterflies
This book was a travel book to Central America and its beautiful environment that is vital to our world. Although it takes place in Belize, I think this information is transferable to any country with a rain forest.
This book was a travel book to Central America and its beautiful environment that is vital to our world. Although it takes place in Belize, I think this information is transferable to any country with a rain forest.
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