" Followed by the Lark richly imagines the robust inner life of [Thoreau] . Gorgeous . A compelling, affecting portrait of the esteemed naturalist." --Janet Somerville, The Toronto Sun "Uniquely lyrical, empathic, and transporting . Humphreys gracefully and perceptively imagines the inner life of a singular earth ecstatic more comfortable with bluebirds than humans, attuned to the seasons and the lay of the land, and blissful in solitude and communion with the page. A mesmerizing and moving homage." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) "Humphreys is a born storyteller, her prose jumping through the life and times of Thoreau, like a gentle river current in summertime. The result is a novel of astonishing insight into Thoreau's complicated spiritual, and often tragic life.

" --Ron Halvorson, EcoLit Books "Arresting in [its] beauty . Humphreys ably demonstrates the enduring appeal of her subject." -- Publishers Weekly "[An] affectionate meander through the life of Henry David Thoreau . whose enthusiasts will find much to delight here." -- Kirkus Reviews "What a balm, this book, the way it returns us to the nouns of the world: the birds, the stones, the stumps, an apple in the pocket, a brother, a pond. It made me want to go outside. By inhabiting Thoreau, letting us walk with him through the Concord woods, Followed by the Lark shows the natural world offering order against the messy stuff of human life--its disappointments, confusions, periods of lockjawed grief. With muscle and melancholy, it reminds us that a sense of meaning rises from a sense of place, and that attention is a form of reverence, and love.

" --Nina MacLaughlin, author of Wake, Siren "This Thoreau is flawed, human, muddling through, and yet also prescient about the consequences of empire and what some called progress. Followed by the Lark is a beautiful threnody for what is lost as we grow and what is destroyed by colonization." --Sarah Moss, author of The Fell " Followed by the Lark unfolds like friendship itself: the initial surprise, delightful as the first bluebird of spring, followed by the long years and sneakily brief seasons of mutual discoveries, tensions, and shared losses. Helen Humphreys has written a textured, intimate companion to our factual knowledge of Thoreau and, in the meantime, evoked a longing in this reader for a deeper connection to the natural world. A gem of a book." --Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men "Helen Humphreys has given us a Thoreau tenderly, mindfully observed in moments to be experienced much as the good surveyor of Concord did himself: with a sauntering curiosity that brings life into our hearts, bearing all its freshness, all its depths and contradictions. I will treasure this book." --Trevor Herriot, author of The Economy of Sparrows.