This Tender Place

“Lawlor has a remark­ably trans­par­ent style, the per­fect vehi­cle for cap­tur­ing the sub­tle beau­ty of the fen, a rare and pre­cious form of wet­land fed by under­ground lime­stone springs … Like the sur­pris­ing fecun­di­ty of the unas­sum­ing fen, Lawlor’s seem­ing­ly placid book teems with hid­den life and sig­nif­i­cant obser­va­tions, as she reveals the beau­ty and ines­timable val­ue of an often-maligned by tru­ly essen­tial nat­ur­al land­scape.” (Book­list)

“If you bring your whole mind to the read­ing of this book, you will find your­self touch­ing the real­i­ty of This Ten­der Place also with your eyes, your ears, your nose, your tongue, and your body … With your mind entire­ly present, you will find the past and the future ful­ly avail­able in the here and now … I am sure read­ers will expe­ri­ence a great deal of plea­sure in read­ing This Ten­der Place.” (Thich Nhat Hanh, Bud­dhist teacher, peace activist, and  author of more than 50 books)

“Nature lovers will be entranced by Lawlor’s descrip­tions of ani­mals and the his­to­ry of a place.” (Eliz­a­beth McBride, Recip­i­ent of the Ellis-Hen­der­son Out­door Writ­ing Award 1997, 1999, and con­trib­u­tor to the New York Times)

“Lau­rie Lawlor’s writ­ing reflects her love for her wet­land. At times the writ­ing is so beau­ti­ful, so lyri­cal, it should be set to music.” (Joanne Flem­ming, Wis­con­sin writer)

“In the wet­lands of south­east Wis­con­sin, Lawlor ini­ti­ates a gen­uine rela­tion­ship with the land. From spring peep­ers to sand­hill cranes, there is an unyield­ing sense of her direct par­tic­i­pa­tion with nature, and through her encoun­ters and descrip­tions one feels a new sense of belonging—a con­ti­nu­ity with all life.” (Nina Leopold Bradley, daugh­ter of Aldo Leopold, author of Sand Coun­ty Almanac)