On a Butterfly's Wing

A unique mix of self-help and natural history inspiration, written by a key figure in recovering three endangered species, tells how a butterfly’s transformations can inspire our own. In our era of global change, we need stories that offer hope and positive solutions to the challenges we face. On a Butterfly’s Wing is a true story, told by one of the world’s leading conservationists, who describes how the parallel lives of a butterfly and a beloved mother can help us to reflect on the unique privilege of being alive.

Its narrator (La Reme, the butterfly itself) shows us how the stages in the butterfly life cycle offer lessons for the difficult transformations of our own. We are encouraged to shed our skins as caterpillars do; to collaborate with others like cells within a chrysalis; and to spread the multi-coloured wings of our imaginations.

En route, we discover the remarkable 12,000-kilometre migratory cycle of painted lady butterflies, which can take three generations to travel from Norway to Africa. Their remarkable journey serves to remind us that our own transient lives—made from particles billions of years old—connect us all in the universe’s own constant metamorphosis.