Stranded: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times, Maddalena Bearzi, Heyday Books, 2023, 224 pages

Maddalena Bearzi

About the Author:
Maddalena Bearzi is president and cofounder of Ocean Conservation Society. She holds a PhD in biology and a postdoctorate from UCLA, and she has been involved in studying marine mammals, with a conservation bias, since 1990. Her research on dolphins and whales off California represents one of the longest investigations worldwide. She has published several scientific peer-reviewed papers, and she is coauthor of Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins (Harvard University Press) and author of Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist (University of Chicago Press). Her work and books have been covered by CNN, NPR, KPCC, Al Jazeera America, the Hallmark Channel, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, and American Scientist, among others. Bearzi has also been a writer for numerous media, including National Geographic. Born and raised in Italy, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and dog.
Text: Heyday Books. Photo credit: Charlie Saylan.

Bearzi has authored a new children’s book to be published in May 2025, The Secret Life of a Sea Turtle.

Our Recommendation of Stranded from our Summer 2023 issue:

“When the COVID lockdown became a reality, and she was unable to continue work in the close quarters of her research vessel, conservationist and marine biologist Maddalena Bearzi turned her wildlife observations to her own yard instead of the sea.

“The resulting Stranded is as effortless and satisfying as a backyard conversation with an old friend. Bearzi recalls lockdown days with humor--her NextDoor community's daily ‘Coyote Alert!’--and wonder for the wildness of her neighborhood. Instead of studying whales and dolphins, she turns her attention to birds and squirrels, dogs and opossums, and paper wasps and garden flowers, creating an unpretentious and thoroughly satisfying memoir of the pandemic.

“Her list of ‘Ideas for Uncertain Times’ is realistic, optimistic, hopeful, and reassuring. Bearzi hits the right tone for these chaotic times.”

We thank the recording studio staff at the Bloomington Public Library (IL) for helping us create this page’s audio.