Conversations with Charlie Russell
Since white settlement of North America, Grizzly Bears have been feared as unpredictable, dangerous misfits. This image has led to their near extinction. Now, formerly a stronghold for trophy hunting, British Columbia banned Grizzly hunting and established the first Grizzly Bear wilderness sanctuary.
Charlie Russell was a chief architect of this change. Built on a decade of conversations with author Gay Bradshaw, Talking with Bears: Conversations with Charlie Russell explores the philosophy and science of this remarkable man and how he was able to live peaceably among Grizzlies for the seventy-plus years of his life.Talking with Bears travels with Charlie from his native Alberta to the Yukon, Alaska, British Columbia, and Russia as he delves deeply into the lives and minds of Bears. We listen to Charlie’s internal journey as he evolved from the pioneer view of Bears as fearsome menaces to becoming a mother Bear for ten orphaned Brown Bear cubs in Russia’s Far East wilderness, Kamchatka. Through the lessons from the Bears, we hear voices of other teachers who advocate for the embrace of a new, but ancient, way of being—what Richard Rohr refers to as nondual thinking, Eckhart Tolle, presence, Thich Nhat Hanh, loving kindness, and quantum physicist David Bohm, wholeness. Talking with Bears is written for everyone and anyone yearning to revitalize their relationship with Nature.
Author Bio
G. A. Bradshaw is the founder and director of The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence (kerulos.org). She holds doctoral degrees in ecology and psychology, and she was the first scientist to recognize and diagnose PTSD in Elephants, Chimpanzees, Orcas, and other Animals. Her books include the Pulitzer-nominated Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity; Carnivore Minds: Who These Fearsome Animals Really Are; Talking with Bears: Conversations with Charlie Russell; and The Elephant Letters: The Story of Billy and Kani. She is the director and primary carer for rescued domesticated Animals and Indigenous Wildlife at Grace Village (formerly the Tortoise and the Hare Sanctuary) in the mountains of southern Oregon, located on the traditional lands of the Grizzly Bear, Takelma, Gray Wolf , and Coho Salmon.
The Roaring Fork Valley Bear Coalition does NOT receive commissions on the books listed on this site. These suggested books are a collection of expert information about bears. It is our hope to pass bear knowledge onto our community so that we can all peacefully coexist with the bears that share our beautiful mountain home.