Nightfaring - Large Print by Megan Eaves-Egenes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A heartfelt exploration of the night on Earth, following a travel journalist and dark sky advocate around the globe as she seeks out dark places in our ever-brightening world.

People, plants and animals all depend on the natural night--both its darkness and its starlight--for so much, from regulating our sleep cycles to providing the inspiration for myths and legends across the millennia. But darkness is disappearing, and with it, our view of the stars. The constant glow of streetlights, of headlights streaming down highways, and wasteful glare from skyscrapers left shining all night have created so much light pollution that the majority of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way or experience the restful embrace of a natural night. As the dark becomes ever more elusive, it is a critical moment to stop, look up, and consider what we lose with the disappearing stars.

In Nightfaring, Megan Eaves-Egenes travels around the world to better understand our deep connection to the dark. Finding solace in the stars at a time of difficulty in her own life, she embarks on a journey from New Zealand to Uzbekistan, Italy to Japan, Germany to the Himalaya, exploring the many ways that humans have depended on, feared, and mythologized darkness.

Blending travel and nature writing with history and self-discovery, Megan writes of how the stars have helped her chart the course of her own life--just as they've guided humankind for as long as we've slept beneath them.

Review Quotes

"Nightfaring is an invitation to explore how the night sky connects us - to the past, to ourselves, to the planet and to the cosmos. Through rich storytelling and deeply reported histories, Megan leads us on a raw, multisensory journey into the less-trodden nocturnal world. This introspective read is a push to reimagine our relationship to the night ... It's also a reminder that travel, when done well, can be life's greatest teacher."
--Stephanie Vermillion, author of 100 Nights of a Lifetime

"A truly powerful paean to the night sky offering a kaleidoscopic mix of science, adventure, spirituality, psychology and insights into our inner lives and deepest fears."--Caroline Eden, author of Samarkand and Cold Kitchen

"From Uzbek observatories to Guaraní fire blessings, Maori star compasses to Irish banshees, Nightfaring is an engaging and illuminating exploration of our relationship with darkness and the night sky. A thoughtful, perceptive and insightful writer, Megan Eaves-Egenes will change the way you look at the stars."--Shafik Meghji, author of Crossed Off the Map and Small Earthquakes

"Megan Eaves-Egenes readers on a journey around the world to reveal what we're collectively missing out on under the influence of artificial light. In captivating scenes that take place in Tanzania, New Zealand, Japan and a variety of other locales, Eaves-Egenes explores the importance of natural darkness for diverse ecosystems - and her own health - as she reminds readers that, even though we're collectively turning on too many lights, natural darkness is still our shared home."
--Leigh Ann Henion, New York Times bestselling author of Night Magic

"Mixing myth and history with the latest science, Eaves weaves her story with clear, insightful prose, offering an entertaining journey into the darkness that is so vital for life on earth and so easily forgotten. Nightfaring reminds us of all that being in the dark brings alive and allows, what we lose when we overuse artificial light, and the good wildness that makes the night so key to our wellbeing."--Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night

"There's a deep love of the night sky woven into every sentence, and a powerful lesson for humanity as it fakes a nocturnal existence: only in the stillness of night can we see the light."--Forbes

About the Author

Megan Eaves-Egenes is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer whose work explores the intersections of landscape, culture, and the natural world. A passionate advocate for dark skies, she is the editor of DarkSky International's Nightscape magazine and founded Dark Sky London, a community group focused on light pollution awareness. For many years, Megan was the North and Central Asia Editor at legendary travel publisher Lonely Planet and she has written about travel and place for the BBC, National Geographic, AFAR, The Times and others. Originally from the dark-sky deserts of New Mexico, she now lives in London.

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