“Deeply personal and poignant.” – BBC Countryfile

In Wild Woman, Philippa Forrester blends conservation storytelling with humour and deeply personal reflection to explore the lives of women who choose to live and work in the wild.

Drawing on her own three decades spent travelling the globe and working in some of the world’s most remote environments, Philippa examines the grit, resilience, and determination required for women to succeed in traditionally male-dominated fields such as conservation and environmental biology. Along the way, she celebrates female conservation heroes and extraordinary women whose lives are shaped by their connection to the natural world.

From a sixteenth-century botanist who became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, to modern-day women responding to bear attacks in Yellowstone, rewilding reserves in South Africa, and photographing caribou in the Arctic, Wild Woman spans continents and centuries. Through these stories, Philippa also explores how nature acts as a powerful form of medicine for mental health, offering restoration, purpose, and strength.

At once reflective and inspiring, this book asks a vital question: what does it truly take for a woman to live and work in the wild, and what does the natural world gain in return?