Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (1991) is an autobiographical account which chronicles a disruptive period in the life of author Terry Tempest Williams. In 1983, several sources of stability and inspiration for Williams were shaken, when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and her beloved Bear River Bird Refuge was threatened by the rising waters of the Great Salt Lake. Critical of less-than-sensitive responses to the land, Williams finds her own peace as she comes to embrace continuity in change, both in the land of her LDS ancestors and in rhythms of her family and her own life.
Terry Tempest Williams, formerly the Naturalist-in-Residence at the Utah Museum of Natural History, now lives in Castle Valley, Utah. Her books include Pieces of White Shell, which won the Southwest Book Award, and Coyote Canyon, a collection of personal narratives of Utah’s desert canyons.
Discussion Questions for Refuge:
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In what ways are birds important to this narrative? E.g., in depicting the relationship between the narrator and her mother and grandmother; relevance as chapter titles; symbolic role(s), etc.
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Name several meaning or definitions of "refuge" contained in the narrative. Is there any conclusive definition? Does the author answer he basic question, "How do we find refuge in the midst of change?"?
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What/who are healed in the story, and how? How is healing linked to nature, to religion, to state of mind, to Native American culture, etc.?
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Terry's mother dies after years of battling cancer. What does she learn from the experience? What does Terry learn? Is Terry's narrative sentimentalized? How is human death linked to death in nature, and Terry's mother's death to the flooding Salt Lake?
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Would you call this book a feminist document? In what ways are Terry's mother and grandmother Mimi important in her development? What does she learn from them? In what ways does she differ from them?
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What does Terry gain from her Mormon background? She says she is not an "orthodox" Mormon. What evidence of her unorthodoxy do you see in the book? In what larger sense is the book a description of religious or spiritual experience? What role is played by ritual? By Native American beliefs?
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How do urban perceived-necessities clash with natural forces when the lake floods? How do people, government, and businesses respond? How does Terry respond to the flooding of her beloved bird refuge? How do the birds respond? What ironies lie in "radiation" and its role in the story? Does the final chapter ("The Clan of One-Breasted Women") seem tacked on, or intrinsically linked to the book that precedes it?
Information on Terry Tempest Williams
http://www.coyoteclan.com/
This site is a gathering place and resource for information related to the life and work of Terry Tempest Williams, author, naturalist, and environmental activist.
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