Gentle and Fierce: Essays

To be gentle is to resist the privileging of command above compassion. It is a quiet voice, a persistent whisper, calm and consoling. Ferocity is an armour, a forceful expression of resolve and protection. To be fierce is to know the intensity of the edges of feeling. It is the voice that calls out, intending to be heard.

Gentle and Fierce focuses on the world that humans share with animals. Having spent her life in city environments, Vanessa Berry's experiences with animals have largely be...