Skip to Main Content

Part Wild

One Woman's Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs

About The Book

Part Wild is the unforgettable story of Ceiridwen Terrill’s journey with a creature whose heart is divided between her bond to one woman and her need to roam free. When Terrill adopts a wolfdog— part husky, part gray wolf—named Inyo to be her protector and fellow traveler, she is drawn to Inyo’s spark of wildness; compelled by the great responsibility, even danger, that accompanies the allure of the wild; and transformed by the extraordinary love she shares with Inyo, who teaches Terrill how to carve out a place for herself in the world.

Over almost four years, Terrill and Inyo’s adventures veer between hilarious and heartbreaking. There are peaceful weekends spent hiking in snowy foothills, mirthful romps through dirty laundry, joyful adoptions of dog companions, and clashes brought on by the stress of caring for Inyo, insatiable without the stimulation of a life lived outdoors. Forced to move and accommodate the complaints of fearful neighbors and the desires of her space-craving wolfdog, Terrill must confront the reality of what she has done by trying to tame a part-wild animal.

Driven to understand the differences between dogs and wolves, Terrill spent five years interviewing genetics experts, wolf biologists, dog trainers, and wolf rescuers in the United States, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, and Russia. The fascinating results of her investigation make Part Wild as informative as it is moving.

A gifted writer able to capture the grace and power of the natural world, the complexity of scientific ideas, and the pulse of the human experience, Terrill has written a bittersweet memoir of the beauty and tragedy that come from living with a measure of wildness.

About The Author

Lisa Metzger

Ceiridwen Terrill is an associate professor of science writing and environmental journalism at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Her essays have appeared in Oxford American and Isotope, as well as the anthology What Wildness Is This: Women Write About the Southwest. Her first book Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking Invasive Species was published in 2007. To see photos and video from Part Wild and to learn more about her work, visit MyUrbanWild.com. Follow her on Twitter@myurbanwild.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (October 11, 2011)
  • Length: 288 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781451634839

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

“This introspective and lyrical book will be an eye-opener for all lovers of dogs.” —Booklist

“A memoir that is impossible to put down, even as it breaks the reader's heart.” —Shelf Awareness

“The moments of pure wildness that united the spirits of the author and her wolfdog Inyo will touch the soul of every reader.” --Dr. Michael W. Fox

“I can’t think of anything I’ve read lately that made me more grateful to have dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, as domesticated animals, in my life. The book is beautifully written, bravely honest and heart-breaking. ” --Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog

“I can’t think of anything I’ve read lately that made me more grateful to have dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, as domesticated animals, in my life. The book is beautifully written, bravely honest and heart-breaking. ” --Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images