Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild

The wolf was so close now... Approaching the place where the edge of the forest met the open meadow, I paused before stepping out from the shadows of the trees. The sun was directly overhead. In that moment I stood frozen in my tracks next to the fresh footprint of the wolf that had led me here. I was sharing this trail with the wolf and I did not want the moment to end. I wanted that wolf to be with me forever. (from Chapter Seven, Pack)

Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild is a memoir of exploration and survival that will inspire you to better tend to the planet, even if it's simply tending the soil in your own backyard!

Doniga has given us a manual on how to get in touch with our best selves, through getting in touch with the earth. -Joan Baez

Dawn Again takes readers along a young woman's journey from unsettled teen to immersive nature school student to wildlife tracker to a cattle woman on a mission to save the food system through regenerative agricultural practices that restore the soil and other non-human elements of the planet.

From one of the few female voices in both wilderness immersion and ranching, Dawn Again is a nature memoir that shares Doniga's experience hitchhiking across the Pacific Northwest, waiting patiently to connect with a deer on its terms, and tracking in Alaska where she finally came face to face with white wolves and the rigor of wilderness survival.

When Doniga tracks mountain lions with Erik, a rancher, she finds herself falling in love with more than just nature. She settles down on a cattle ranch on the California coast to start a family, and has to learn how to apply the deep lessons of the wild to her everyday life.

Advocating for nature knowledge and ecological wisdom, Dawn Again dives into Doniga's real-life experiences as a woman, environmentalist, wilderness expert, woman rancher, mother, and producer in the food system.

About the Author
Doniga Markegard is a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author of Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild. Her teen years in nature school started her on a path that led to a career in animal tracking and then permaculture and ranching on her farm in California, Markegard Family Grass-Fed, where she works to regenerate both soil and community through farming. Using the innovative, carbon-storing methods of regenerative ranching, she's restoring the land she tends, bringing back native grasses and wildlife. Doniga is a consultant and guest instructor at Nature Awareness Programs around the country, has led retreats in places such as 1440 Multiversity and Canyon Ranch and is a regular speaker at events such as the Bioneers Conference, Food Inspiration Trendsummit, and The Grassfed Exchange. She is a certified educator with Holistic Management International. She has worked with companies such as Patagonia, Tesla and Google, and has been featured in articles from Civil Eats, FastCompany, GreenBiz, The San Francisco Examiner, and NPR. Most recently she has been featured in the film Kiss the Ground, available on Netflix.