[One Sip of a Book] My Days with a Puma

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books.

This is a record of love, communication, and healing shared between two species, as well as the coming-of-age story of a human searching for the meaning of life. The author, Laura Coleman, quit her job in her twenties and became a volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary during a backpacking trip in South America. There, she cared for a puma named Waira, rescued from illegal trafficking and abuse, and realized the true meaning of life. The story beautifully and thrillingly depicts the process of a puma, fearful of the wild, and a woman, who fled from life itself, building trust and friendship, guiding us into a new world never before encountered.

"Where did Waira come from?"

(...) "She was separated from her mother when she was a cub." Jane finally speaks, her voice flat and dry, as if telling a story she has repeated countless times. How many volunteers like me must she have taught? "Hunters shot her mother and smuggled Waira into the city. They intended to sell her on the black market. A street artist bought Waira, locked her in a small box, and left her in a noisy, filthy place. Then they made her perform tricks. That little one... This is really..." Jane clenches her teeth visibly. "If she had lived in the wild, she would have stayed with her mother until she was two years old. But she was chained, whipped, and suffered from malnutrition. She never learned how to protect herself. After growing violent, she was abandoned here. She was about ten months old." - p.70-71

She licks me for the first time. I don’t know what to do.

"She’s licking me!" I whisper in amazement.

Jane, crouched on the other side of the door with her knees hugged, smiles.

"Don’t get too excited. It’s probably because of the salt."

Waira proudly presses her forehead against my arm, flips it over, and starts licking the other side. Almost, really almost, I forgot that Waira was inside the cage and I was outside. (...) Slurp, slurp, slurp. My skin reddens. The rest of my body feels nothing; only this narrow patch of skin touched by Waira becomes the focus of sensation. Only that part exists as a part of me. Everything else?missed buses, chances to explore the town, my entire previous life?fades away. Waira takes me to a place where the cage does not exist. I can’t believe this is the same cat that hissed at me the first day we met. She looks the same but is completely different. Everything has changed. My head feels like it might explode. I’m smiling so widely that I think I might burst into tears at this ridiculous moment again. What has happened to me? - p.73

I know that other animals in Waira’s situation, human communities, trees, rivers, lakes, and mountains?all the worlds they form?are dying. Even though I know there is a zoo less than eight hours away, I helplessly watch new animals flood in and the ones I cared for being taken away. Meanwhile, I run along the trails, groom Waira’s fur, swim together, and dedicate my entire radiant reason for being to Waira. As the jungle shatters, floods and fires worsen, and more roads are built.

Leaving is not failure. If you choose to do something to be proud of every single day. Fortunately, I have that choice. It is a gift left by privilege. Waira does not even have that choice. So I chose to question what I once thought unbreakable: marriage and the meaning of success; sexism, racism, capitalism, speciesism, and other ‘isms’; the foundations of this destruction; everything that made me a person afraid of myself and my desires; everything that has hurt countless people, homes, and animals. I chose to question and fight against them.

If I didn’t, how could I look into Waira’s face? - p.351

Illegal wildlife trade is continuously increasing. Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has only grown with the advent of social media. Photos of ‘cute’ baby pumas doing ‘cute’ things spread instantly. Like many other parts of the world, countless animals and people in Bolivia have lost their homes or live under terrible conditions even if they have one. - p.438

Days with a Puma | Written by Laura Coleman | Pureunsup | 448 pages | 22,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.