Swimming With Frogs
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253217563

Life In The Brown County Hills.

Brown County, Indiana is known for its breathtaking vistas of rolling hills, charming hollows & dense woods which remain home to abundant wild life -- deer, waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, et al, & ever since it was settled two centuries ago it has been a magnet for tourists, hunters & major American artists.

Then the author & her husband Joe, a professor of immunology at the IU School of Medicine, moved into a primitive cabin on the edge of a hardwood forest, with a pond & a creek, & thus began a journey of discovery —- of herself & her place in the natural world.

As Ruth Ann & Joe, along with their ancient companion, Cassie, a German Shepherd mix dog, settled into the place, the passing of each day offered up simple truths as they repair the cabin, learn the contours & textures of the land, & become ever more mindful of the animals & plants that share their living space. As the couple learn to walk in step with nature, they discover a depth & richness to their life that has previously evaded them.

When Joe dies, Ruth Ann Ingraham “...entered a solitary, reflective phase and resolved to write about nature, survival, regeneration, giving back, and love; about what I gleaned from being silent, listening, touching, seeing, and absorbing; and about discovering the magnificent diversity revealed when Brown County's multicolored panoply of leaves is peeled back. How could I have known in 1990, when my husband and I purchased a simple little cabin with a few acres of land, how much this bit of earth and its accoutrements would penetrate my soul, and how it would clarify what I care about and stand for?” — from the Prologue.

That having been writ, Longtime Reader, Marjorie from Down on the Indiana Farm, suggested I read Swimming with Frogs. I'm sure she realized what an enchanting, life-changing read she had set before me. If you have enjoyed all my Thoughts of a Rural Woman in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest over the years, then you're going to be fascinated & satisfied with Ruth Ann Ingraham's.

To say that I loved Swimming with Frogs is along the lines of saying I love fresh lettuce from my garden, watching the elk come out to graze, the birds return with Springtime, or listening to the frogs' chorus: this book is the best I've ever read of this kind of personal journey, with proper research, from city to country, from the bliss of tandem dwelling which is marriage to aching solitude to slowly unfurling toward a rich life on the land. In her Prologue, Ruth Ann Ingraham tells the story of how she came to complete her book, which is a classic lesson for would-be writers.

Ruth Ann Ingraham gently offers an elegant, articulate & charmingly illustrated journal & text book about living an examined life & healing the wounds by living through them & returning to the Earth.

In addition to a text that is full of up close observations of nature as well as thoughtful musings about life, Swimming with Frogs is beautifully illustrated with black & white drawings by Chris N. Carlson, & a section of the author's exquisite color photos of her neighbors -- both flora & fauna. It will appeal to naturalists of all stripes, fans of contemplative writing, & Brown County residents & visitors. It made me quite homesick for America's Heartland, where I lived for 17 years.

Outstanding!

Ruth Ann Ingraham is a co-founder of the Indiana Native Plant & Wildflower Society at www.inpaws.org. A lifetime Hoosier & Purdue graduate, she is a traveler, naturalist, mother of two daughters, & volunteer.

Do catch my Interview with this fellow country-dweller & writer.
(03/12/06)

Rebecca