WINNER OF THE WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR NONFICTION (2012)
WINNER OF THE JOHN BURROUGHS MEDAL (2011)
NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD FOR 2010 in Natural History Literature
BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE AWARD, FINALIST for Inspirational Memoir
TOP TEN ADULT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BOOKS FOR 2010,
Booklist BEST BOOKS OF 2010: MORE OF THE BEST,
Library Journal GREAT TITLES TO ADD TO THE NYT BEST OF 2010,
Huffington Post Praise: "Beautiful." --
Edward O. Wilson "Universal, deeply felt, and with an enormously generous soul, the gently told story grants readers a heightened appreciation for the ever-shrinking, ever-fascinating, secretive parts of our unkempt world." --
Alexandra Fuller for The Daily Beast "How interesting can a snail be? Entirely captivating, as it turns out. [Bailey] is a marvelous writer, and the marriage of science and poetic mysticism that characterizes this small volume is magical." --
Minneapolis Star Tribune "[Bailey] found comfort in an unlikely companion--a tiny snail, whose micro-doings are the source of a surprising philosophy." --
Entertainment Weekly "An exquisite meditation on the restorative connection between nature and humans. . . Bailey's slim book is as richly layered as the soil she lays down in the snail's terrarium: loamy, potent, and regenerative." --
The Huffington Post "[A] small, quiet masterpiece, already destined to become a classic." --
Washington Times "A spare, beautifully quirky grace note of a book." --
Family Circle "Though illness may rob us of vitality, sometimes it can also help bring us understanding---albeit in improbable disguises . . . Perhaps there's something to be said for moving at a snail's pace." --
NPR.org "This elegant little gem is a triumph."--
Maine Sunday Telegram
