In this memoir, Uganda's first wildlife veterinarian recounts her career and advocacy for mountain gorillas (in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and elsewhere) - and for the communities living close to them.

A major achievement was her launch of an NGO, Conservation Through Public Health, taking a 'holistic approach that integrated human, wildlife, and livestock health.'

Family planning was later integrated into the program, by involving local community members. Dr. Gladys emphasizes the need to empower women in communities, and to address the rate of human population growth worldwide.

This is an absolute must-read book for anyone who love nature and wildlife! This book is a beautiful insight into the working and monumental accomplishments of Dr Gladys and it is just breathtaking. She has done so much for Uganda, gorillas and women. Her passion and compassion have led to a wonderful leap forward the human and animal cohabiting world. I thoroughly enjoyed finding all this out and more, whilst reading the book. I am blown away by just how much I have fallen in love with the book. I can honestly say I loved it and I hold immense respect for Dr Gladys.

I love a good memoir. I love primates (anthropology degree over here). I love nature documentaries. And I love strong females who created a path forward for those of us that follow. All of this means I love this book! Thank you for sharing your story with us Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. It is incredibly inspiring to have persevered amongst many challenges.

I loved reading about Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka's work! Her story is both heartbreaking (personally) and inspiring (professionally). She was a leader in her field, and the work she has done in the wild is truly remarkable. I'd love for there to be a child's version some day for my students to enjoy!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I really hoped to give this book more than 3 stars. I found the stories Dr. Kalema- ZikusokaI wrote of interesting on the surface, but lacking in depth. I wanted to feel as if I were out in the field with her saving animals, but only felt as if I were reading notes she jotted down. I do appreciate her and her life saving work. I thank NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the advance read.

If you love any of Jane Goodall's books then this is definitely for you. I loved this memoir for not only it's animal spotlights and stories but also to hear what great things this author has been doing to ensure that Gorilla habitat's are evolving successfully with our changing world to ensure that they continue to have a home.

5 brilliant stars!!

You know if Jane Goodall has written an introduction to a book it’s going to be good. Having lived in Uganda and with nature writing being one of my favourite genres I also knew this would be a book I would enjoy. However despite that it completely went beyond expectations and turned out to be an inspiring, fantastic and educational read. Without a doubt my favourite book of 2023 so far.

Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka not only defied the odds to become a vet in the first place but went onto become Uganda’s first wildlife veterinarian. She became especially interested in mountain gorillas and spent time monitoring, treating and researching them near the Congolese border. What became apparent was how interconnected both animals and people are and how a community of humans can impact the lives of gorillas and vice versa. Realising how diseases could pass from humans to gorillas and also how social issues could lead to poaching Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka set up multiple initiatives and eventually an NGO that looked at addressing issues in both animal and human lives so that outcomes improved for both.

Written in a conversational style, though with plenty of evidence, references and details, this is a very easy to read book. I sat down to start reading it this morning and finished it in the same day as I wanted to know what happened next and was completely enthralled.

Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka own life is fascinating. She is a remarkable person who has faced multiple challenges but not given up. The difficulties instead made her more determined. Reading about her was inspiring and makes you want to go out and make positive changes in your own community. What really stood out for me however was her use of research methods to understand issues and then using solutions that involved the participation of communities. She explains how this makes sustainable changes and also allows communities to take the lead and ownership too. Using examples of medication, health, technology to animal welfare time and time again she shows just how successful this is as a process. While not shying away from the hardships and challenges involved this book provides a really good example of research, development work and conservation done correctly.

A brilliant book, I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kalema-Zikusoka can best be described as a trailblazer: born and raised in Uganda, she knew relatively early that she wanted to work with animals...but in taking a job as a wildlife veterinarian, she more or less created that role in Uganda—as a Black, African woman in a field historically dominated by white (often Western) men. She notes late in the book that media sometimes refer to her as the "first female wildlife veterinarian in Uganda" (loc. 3890*), and while this is technically true, it implies that a man or men had come before her—when in fact it's a path that she started blazing alone in the 90s.

In "Walking with Gorillas," Kalema-Zikusoka describes a career spent working with, and advocating for, animals, but a much more complicated career path than you might think. She grew up with a fair amount of privilege, educated in Kenya and the UK, but also in the shadow of tragedy—her parents were politically involved, and her father was murdered when Kalema-Zikusoka was a toddler. And her own work was, at times, uncharted territory. Her conservation work with primates meant learning what the surrounding communities needed and how they viewed the gorillas living near them, and then working with those communities to find ways for human and animal to coexist sustainably. To that end, the book ends up focusing much less on direct work with animals and much more on what amounts to politics and diplomacy and the struggles of small businesses: raising funds, and convincing different groups to work together, and setting up programs to improve both human and animal health, and developing a coffee brand to both raise funds and support local coffee farmers, and working on family planning strategies, and on and on it goes. (And jeepers creepers: the amount of racism and sexism involved must have been staggering; Kalema-Zikusoka treats instances of those relatively matter-of-factly and never dwells on it, but it's...it's there.)

A lot of it is fascinating work (I'm not actually much of an animal person, but for whatever reason I love reading about veterinary work, and also work out in the wild—any wild), though it helps to go into it knowing how much of it is about...the work around the work, I guess. This is not a memoir of a singular experience, or of a year or two of working with animals; it's about decades of learning and advocacy and inspiring change. It's a futile wish, but I did find myself wishing that Kalema-Zikusoka had written a book much much earlier, and then perhaps another and another over the span of however many years, to allow more space for full scenes and direct work with animals.

One thing that's really interesting to note is the circular, or at least constantly shifting, face of conservation: Kalema-Zikusoka notes towards the end that before tourism, threats to gorillas came from local communities who resented conservation efforts because they impacted locals' ability to source wood, etc.; with the advent of tourism, those threats subsided but new threats came in the shape of disease transmission and retaliatory killings when habituated animals get too comfortable in the human sphere (and, e.g., eat crops). Definitely a job that will never truly be done.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*I read an ARC, so quotes may not be final.

I know none of you know me but gorillas are my favorite animal. I am constantly amazed by them, their strength and family devotion. I was thrilled when I got approved for this Dr’s book. What an honor for a gorilla fan and ambassador to read what she does. Ok yes I am jealous and will read this book many times over. Please help those striving to protect these wonderful animals.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

I've waited a long time for a sequel to Dian Fosse's excellent though heart-rending Gorillas in the Mist so when Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka's publisher offered me early access to her book, Walking With Gorillas (Arcade 2023), I grabbed it.  This is the story of one of our closest relatives--gorillas--told by an individual dedicated to sharing their tale despite challenges that could defeat anyone less committed. Because of this, Kalema-Zikusoka has become an important voice in saving our endangered cousin.

"... a magical time for me and a turning point in my life, where I decided to become not just a veterinarian, but one who works with wildlife."

She realized early that as a native, no one had a better lens to tell this story so she must do it.

"Vernon reminded me to be patient by relating a saying I will never forget, “Africans have the time while Europeans have the watches!”

"... in Uganda, where the local Batwa hunter/gatherers avoided the gorillas because they believed it was bad luck to look in the eyes of a gorilla, people in Zaire ate gorillas because they believed that eating a gorilla would give them its strength."

"Later I realized that local beliefs was also the reason why there were several giraffes in Murchison Falls National Park and only a handful in Kidepo, where boys had to kill a giraffe as part of the initiation ceremony into manhood."

But don't be surprised when the story becomes more complicated than where the gorillas live and what they eat. With the budget constraints and time demands endemic to not just Uganda but the world of agencies trusted to protect endangered wildlife, there seems to be almost as much time involved in caring for the animals as securing the approvals, funding, and support to make that happen. Kalema-Zikusoka took pains to make this book--unlike any other I've read--almost a procedural in how to save African wildlife.

Overall, this is an important book not just for the work Kalema-Zikusoka did in the field, but for the revealing way she explains what had to be done to make that happen. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to make that commitment to preserving the planet's natural resources.

Was very pleased to receive this book through NetGalley as it was on my wish list., was both educational and informative.