Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

 

“There were many moments during the writing of this book when I thought that elephants may be even more evolved than humans—when I studied their grieving habits, and their mothering skills, and their memories. If you take away anything from this novel, I hope it is an awareness of the cognitive and emotional intelligence of these beautiful animals—and the understanding that it is up to us to protect them.”-Jodi Picoult

 Out of the four books I’ve read by Jodi Picoult, Leaving Time is my favorite. If you love a good mystery and are eager to explore the emotional and cognitive intelligence of elephants and understand the unique individuals they are, you will appreciate this novel.

 Leaving Time is the most suspenseful book I’ve read this year. Connecting with the realities of the elephants is a compelling aspect of the book, and I have to admit that the immoral choices of many of the human characters make the read somewhat annoying.

 It is impossible to imagine the ending of the story. There is no way to guess, but I embrace the layer of mysticism it presents. It is hard not to shed a few tears at the end. I think it is a bit odd that the readers are not warned about the fact that this novel has a touch of magical realism.

 Leaving Time is about the timelessness of love between a mother and her child. It makes you reflect on the precious bond that transcends time and space and how that love connects to our present. It made me think of the moments in which I dreamed of a loved one who had passed away. Yet the energy that connects me to that person lives on in thoughts and actions of strength and hope in ways that escape the realm of words.

  There is something I did not like. The perpetrators of the two acts of violence made me uncomfortable because I did not find them credible. Yet I know it can happen in extremely rare cases… The revelation was to me the monster of social misogyny poking its ugly head into the reader’s mind and a product of the author’s unconscious bias... I will not elaborate further on this. (Jodi, will you ever give mothers a break?).

 Alice Metcalf is Jenna's mother. She is an elephant researcher who left behind a journal with several entries about her personal life and her observations of elephants. Jenna wonders why Alice left her behind. Is Alice dead or alive?

  Be prepared to be taken on an adventure into the world of troubled human characters, and learn about the emotional lives of elephants, both in the wild and on a sanctuary. You will learn about empathy, grief, family bonds and so much more. The novel is informative and thought-provoking. Have you ever thought about empathy and what it implies? Here’s an interesting passage from page 134:

“When I was in Pilanesburg, I watched an elephant come across a rhino calf that was stuck in the mud of a watering hole. The rhinos were distressed, and that in turn upset the elephant, which stood around trumpeting and rumbling. Somehow, she managed to convince the rhinos that she had practice doing this, and to just get out of the way and let her take over. Now, in the great ecological sphere of things, it was not beneficial to the elephant to rescue a rhino baby. And yet she went in and lifted the baby with her trunk, even though the rhino mother charged her each time she tried. She risked her own life for the offspring of another species. Likewise, in Botswana, I saw a matriarch come upon a lioness that was stretched out beside an elephant path while her cubs played in the middle of it. Normally, if an elephant sees a lion it will charge—it recognizes the animal as a threat. But this matriarch waited very patiently for the lioness to collect her cubs and move away. True, the cubs were no threat to the elephant, but one day they would be. Right then, however, they were just someone’s babies.”

 Leaving Time is a riveting read with intriguing characters. My favorite human character is Serenity, a “psychic” who befriends Jenna, a thirteen-year-old teenager in her quest to find her mother, who disappeared ten years ago. Then there is Virgil, an alcoholic retired detective who is determined to help Jenna find her mother. The trio captivated me from the beginning… and I liked the elephants.

 The story of these humans is fiction but the ones about the elephants are as real as their plight. There are many forces decimating the population of these compassionate, intelligent beings. Elephants die in the hands of poachers. There is a criminal network responsible for poaching African elephants to benefit from the trade of ivory. The network smuggles ivory from Africa to China. A wealthy middle class in China fuels the demand for ivory products. Corruption in Africa is part of the puzzle that enables the slaughter and trafficking of ivory. Trafficking of ivory is also used to fund terrorism.

  Before the publication of Jodi Picoult’s book forty-one elephants were killed in Zimbabwe because their water hole was poisoned with cyanide. The purpose was to obtain ivory to profit from it, so don’t purchase ivory or anything made of ivory.

  The illegal trafficking of ivory is still happening. This report was published last week by Homeland Security Investigations.

 The slaughter and abduction of elephants lead to trauma, disruption of complex relationships and aggressive elephant behavior in the wild. Elephants are captured for elephant-back safaris, zoos and circuses, where they endure brutal, cruel treatment and endless suffering. In circuses elephants are forced to perform tricks through deprivation of food, water and rest, and by physical restraint, pain and fear. Max Brandett, a former circus worker reveals the details of the horrifying treatment of animals in circuses, so I encourage you to read his report. The elephants are even chained in cages. You can read it from the link I offer. I will not share the information here because it is traumatizing to even write about it. 

 It is disgusting to learn how cruel humans are to these amazing animals. Please, avoid supporting circuses and do everything you can to help stop this cruelty from taking place by educating others on the issue. Avoid paying for elephant-back safaris and make sure that zoos provide the right conditions for elephants and that they don’t capture any more elephants from the wild. In captivity elephants live a life of misery.

 Last but not least, climate change is affecting the survival of elephants in multiple ways. For example, climate change causes prolonged droughts in the African savanna. Also, older elephants are more prone to die as a result of extreme high temperatures, and the loss of the older elephants has a serious impact on the survival of the herds. Supporting regulations that address climate change is also necessary for human survival… and how can anybody oppose regulations that protect the quality of water and air? Let’s make it clear and concise: the regulations that help curb climate change also protect the quality of air and water, so what is not to like about that?

 Climate change also leads to water and food shortage, and the situation worsens the conflicts between humans and elephants and creates tensions that make humanity more prone to start wars and new conflicts. Peaceful coexistence requires a kind of holistic approach to the crisis. 

 There are various organizations working to give assistance to elephants. The elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, which inspired some of Jodi Picoult’s writing, has been helping rescued elephants by providing them with individualized care, the companionship of a herd, and a setting that supports their health and wellbeing. The organization also supports elephants by educating the public. You can also visit the Global Sanctuary for Elephants website. This organization helps to establish elephant sanctuaries worldwide:

 www.globalelephants.org

 

You can learn more about elephants in the wild and the dangers they face by visiting the following sites:

www.elephantvoices.org

https://www.ifaw.org/journal/what-is-ivory

www.tusk.org

www.savethelephants.org

 Here's more information about the link between terrorism and the exploitation of wildlife:

https://editorials.voa.gov/a/stopping-terrorists-from-trafficking-in-natural-resources/6803286.html

I wrote about The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony a while ago. If you haven’t read it yet, feel free to check my post.

The photos of elephants are from unsplash.com: the second photo is by Mylon Ollila; the first photo is by Mathew Spiteri .

The Elephant Whisperer

“When you are feeling down and out and defeated and ready to give up, read this inspiring book and share it widely with others.” Marc Bekoff

Elephants are intriguing creatures and after reading The Elephant Whisperer I fell in love with them. I was spellbound by the compassion, intuition and wisdom that elephants reveal through their actions.  If you have an interest in the emotional life of elephants The Elephant Whisperer will fascinate you, and even if you are indifferent to them you may find this book life-transforming.

After saving the life of a herd of elephants from being shot to death, Lawrence Anthony developed a special bond with them over time. Building up trust led to a connection of love that surpassed the boundaries of their own lives. Lawrence Anthony transports us to the natural reserve of Thula Thula in South Africa.

 Nana, the matriarch of this enigmatic herd, saved Lawrence’s life when Thula Thula was on fire. She also rescued him on other occasions.

 If you think that these elephants only act out of self-interest you are wrong. Nana released a group of antelopes that had been caught to be transported to another natural reserve. 
 Lawrence also rescued a female teenage elephant (ET) whose herd had been shot by poachers. ET was adopted by Nana's herd. ET did not trust Lawrence at the beginning, and the interaction with her was dangerous. It became a complex process, but the final outcome was a positive one.

 “From ET I learned forgiveness. I had managed to reach out to her through her heartbreak and distrust, but only because she had let me. Somewhere along the way she had recovered her life and in the process taught me how to forgive, as she had forgiven humans for the horrors they had visited on her own family before she came to us. She had given birth while I was away and was standing close by looking at me, proudly showing off her baby.”

Good writing can make us laugh, cry and think. Lawrence Anthony can do this well. His deep understanding of the jungle and his communication with elephants left me in awe. He ignited my curiosity, and now I'd like to read his book about rhinos.
 "The Elephant Whisperer" also introduces us to the beliefs  and behaviors of the Zulu culture.
  

“Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.”

  Through his interactions with this herd of elephants  we learn about their emotional lives and behaviors, but there is still a lot that we can't comprehend about these mysterious creatures.

 “During the twenty-year war between northern and southern Sudan elephants were being slaughtered both for ivory and meat and so large numbers migrated to Kenya for safety. Within days of the final ceasefire being signed, the elephants left their adopted residence en masse and trekked the hundreds of miles back home to Sudan. How they knew that their home range was now safe is just another indication of the incredible abilities of these amazing creatures.”

    The chemistry between this herd of elephants and Lawrence Anthony is a gift to the world, and Mr. Anthony’s legacy will live on in the actions of Earth Organization. When Lawrence died in 2012, the beloved herd walked to his home. They were mourning the loss of their friend. 

  
 Here's another website/organization where I learned a lot about elephants.

I received a few e-mails from readers of this blog asking about the lack of comments. To answer your question I will share Matt Gemmel's blog post. He gives you some ideas on what you can do if you come across a blog post that has disabled comments when you feel motivated to comment.

 All blogs are different. Some blogs have comments. Others don't. They all appeal to different audiences and contribute to our diversity.
  

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed."

 Albert Einstein

Till next time.