The delightful account of how a close connection with nature brought joy to a woman incapacitated through illness.While an illness keeps her bedridden, Elisabeth Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence in a terrarium alongside her bed. She enters the rhythm of life of this mysterious creature, and comes to a greater understanding of her own confined place in the world. In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, she shares the inspiring and intimate story of her close encounter with Neohelix albolabris - a common woodland snail.Intrigued by the snail's world - from its strange anatomy to its mysterious courtship activities - she becomes a fascinated and amused observer of the snail's curious life. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is an affirmation of the healing power of nature, revealing how much of the world we miss in our busy daily lives, and how truly magical it is.A remarkable journey of survival and resilience, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating shows how a small part of the natural world can illuminate our own human existence and deepen our appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.

Multi-award winning, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is winner of the 2010 John Burroughs Medal, the 2010 Natural History Literature category of the National Outdoor Book Award (joint award) and the 2012 non-fiction category of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.

ProloguePart I - The Violet-Pot AdventuresField VioletsDiscoveryExplorationsPart II - A Green KingdomThe Forest FloorLife in a MicrocosmTime and TerritoryPart III - JuxtapositionsThousands of TeethTelescopic TentaclesMarvellous SpiralsSecret RecipesPart IV - The Cultural LifeColonies of HermitsMidnight LeapA Snail's ThoughtsDeep SleepPart V - Love and MysteryCryptic LifeAffairs of a SnailBereftOffspringPart VI - Familiar TerritoryReleaseWinter SnailSpring RainNight StarsEpilogueAcknowledgementsAppendix: TerrariaSelected Sources