A couple of years ago, as I was working on the initial drafts of the manuscript that would eventually become my new book,
One With the Tiger: Sublime and Violent Encounters Between Humans and Animals, I was invited to read at a university, something I’ve done many times. I had no idea at the time, though, that this reading and the audience’s reaction would ultimately force me to confront some of the deeper questions in the book and of myself as a writer, questions that would end up fueling much of the writing of the book.
Having read these same early drafts from the manuscript just a few weeks before at another event and been warmly received, I felt fairly confident in my choice to read some of this newer...