All the Way to the Tigers

Written by Mary Morris

Narrated by Susan Bennett

From the author of Nothing to Declare, a new travel narrative examining healing, redemption, and what it means to be a solo woman on the road.

In the tradition of Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Mary Morris turns a personal catastrophe into a rich, multilayered memoir full of personal growth, family history, and thrilling travel.

In February 2008 a casual afternoon of ice skating derailed the trip of a lifetime. Mary Morris was on the verge of a well-earned sabbatical, but instead she endured three months in a wheelchair, two surgeries, and extensive rehabilitation. On Easter Sunday, when she was supposed to be in Morocco, Morris was instead lying on the sofa reading Death in Venice, casting her eyes over these words again and again: "He would go on a journey. Not far. Not all the way to the tigers." Disaster shifted to possibility and Morris made a decision. When she was well enough to walk again (and her doctor wasn't sure she ever would), she would go "all the way to the tigers."

So begins a three-year odyssey that takes Morris to India in search of the world's most elusive apex predator. Her first lesson: don't look for a tiger because you won't find it--you look for signs of a tiger. And all unseen tigers, hiding in the bush, are referred to as "she." Morris connects deeply with these magnificent and highly endangered animals, and her weeks on tiger safari also afford a new understanding of herself.

Written in over a hundred short chapters, All the Way to the Tigers offers an elegiac, wry, and wise look at a woman on the road and the glorious, elusive creature she seeks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980088806

Mary Morris

Mary Morris is a professor at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of novels, travel writing, and short stories, and has been the recipient of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters' coveted Rome prize, a CAPS award, a Guggenheim fellowship, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Reviews for All the Way to the Tigers

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes one finds a book, or a book finds them, at the perfect time. For me, this one did just that. An incredible memoir from a author and woman, who loves life in all it's many forms. Who suffered a serious accident that kept this usually active and traveling woman, housebound for almost two years. Sounds familiar doesn't it? The housebound part of course, not the accident. She had a quest in mind, once she coukd walk again, to see tigers. Up close and personal. Which is what she does, traveling to India, and staying at a few places where one could hire a guide to take one into the jungle. Her descriptions of India are excellent and her experiences, while not for me, are related in full expression. While India is not a place I yearn to go, she did compel me to once again hope for a time when I can once again freely travel.Her memoir goes back and forth, some experiences from her youth, her accident and recovery and her travel. Her husband sounds amazing supportive in all ways. So, did she ever get to see a tiger? You'll have to read the book yourself to find out, which believe me is not a hardship. The pages flew by.

[nyiper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my first Mary Morris book and I'm so happy there are lots more of her books I can read. She is so wonderfully descriptive of the experience of trying to find a real tiger in the wild to observe....weaving in the pieces of her background which help to lead her to this hunt...all while she happens to be horribly ill with a terrible cold/virus and during what turns out to be an exceptionally COLD season in India....for which she did NOT come prepared. I was COLD just reading about her futile efforts to try and get WARM anywhere during the trip! Terrific writing!!

[brangwinn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although an interesting way to write a memoir, this one has no staying power for me. I loved the concept that Morris was searching for the elusive tiger in India, but the back and forth time lapse, although making sense in the context of this book, was disconcerting for me. I felt like I was reading random thoughts. I am glad she got to see a tiger. I never did while in India. What I did like in this book was the description of the villages and cities she passed through on the search.