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Turtles are jaw-droppingly amazing. Some can run faster than a 10-year-old; some can climb trees; others have shells that glow in the dark.

We talk with The Soul of An Octopus author Sy Montgomery and illustrator Matthew Patterson about this and more amazing things about turtles. Their acclaimed book is Of Time And Turtles: Mending the World, Shell By Shattered Shell.

We also share our list of Ten Best Shows of 2023

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice. Read transcripts at the Writer’s Voice Substack.

Sy Montgomery has a gift for bringing the reader intimately into the mind and world of animals, from her celebrated book The Soul of An Octopus, to the one we spoke with her about in 2022, The Hawk’s Way. Now, she’s teamed up with illustrator and turtle maven Matthew Patterson to bring us into the minds and world of turtles and the people who rescue them.

Their book, Of Time And Turtles is both heartbreaking — as they tell us about the plight of these ancient creatures, 60% of which are threatened or endangered — and inspiring, as they recount the stories of turtles brought back from the brink of death to finally be released back into the wild.

And what characters the turtles are! Firechief, Pizzaman, and other wonderful beings leap off the page into the imagination as the reader follows them from tragedy to triumph.

The real heroes of the story are the founders of Turtle Rescue League, Natasha Nowick and Alexia Belle. We hear about their remarkable operation in Massachusetts and about the thrilling rescue mission they organized (and that Sy Montgomery and Matt Patterson went on) to save endangered sea turtles washed ashore on Cape Cod — all in the middle of a nor’easter.

Of Time And Turtles tells us all about these amazing creatures and why we should care about them.

Watch A Video About The Turtle Rescue League

About The Authors

Sy Montgomery is the author of numerous books for adults and children, including The Hawk’s Way, How To Be A Good Creature and Tamed and Untamed. Listen to those interviews here.

Matthew Patterson is a wildlife artist and owner of Stoneridge Art Studios. In addition to Of Time and Turtles, he also collaborated with Sy Montgomery on a children’s book The Book of Turtles.