More than Meets the Eye is a nature memoir about the Maine coast, but it is also a meditation on bereavement, restorative wonder, and the enduring wisdom found when you pay close attention to the natural world.
Blending natural history writing, personal reflection, and scientific insight, Margie Patlak explores how the dramatic landscape and wildlife of coastal Maine illuminates life, loss, renewal, and resilience. Winner of the 2022 American Society of Journalists and Authors “Outstanding Book” award for memoir, this book combines close observation of nature with deeply personal storytelling.
Nature of Maine Reveals the Nature of Life
The three generations of monarch butterflies that make their way from Mexico to Maine reveal the limits of life and what passes between generations. Dramatic tides show the fleeting nature of time and the ephemerality of raising a child. Clouds and shifting weather patterns expose forces larger than ourselves, stripping away illusions of control. Margie also examines the violent geologic collisions that formed and fractured Maine’s mountains, explores current scientific research on animal navigation, and marvels at the intricate dance of plankton under the microscope. Even encounters with moose, foxes, and porcupines reveal more than meets the eye. Through science and reflection, the natural world speaks about the nature of life.
Bereavement Transformed to Wonder
Margie began writing this book after she and her husband bought a place on the rocky shore of northern Maine and started spending summers and autumns there. At the time, she was navigating the loss of her mother and only sibling and the decline of her father. So her writing about Maine’s unique landscape and wildlife is infused with what nature taught her about grief, renewal, and what remains once the ashes are spread.
2022 winner of the American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book award for memoir!
"More than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine is a beautiful and surprising book. Bereavement gives way to awe; the secrets of Maine's rocky coast offer a path to grace. This soulfully written book chocked full of natural history observations is true to its title: These stories are sweeter, deeper, and richer than you would suspect. Thank you, Margie Patlak, for showing us that even in the midst of great sorrow, the natural world shows us how to refresh the wonder."
--Sy Montgomery, author of the New York Times bestseller The Soul of an Octopus.
"To read this book is to gain a deep perspective from looking close, both backwards and forwards and in time and space, for living and enjoying the real world, the one of nature. Patlak gracefully combines it all, centered at a new home in Maine. I learned much while enjoying the whole show."
--Bernd Heinrich, New York Times best-selling author of Summer World, and A Year In the Maine Woods
