Bethany Brookshire

We move into an area, we pave it over, we put up a Walmart, a Target, a Starbucks, a McDonald's, what have you, and we expect the animals to leave. And then we wring our hands. We are so upset. We have killed off this beautiful species. This species becomes beautiful. It becomes charismatic. It becomes this wonderful thing. And look at the horrible stuff we've done to it.

We move into an area, we pave it over, we put up a Walmart, a Target, a Starbucks, a McDonald's, what have you, and we expect the animals to leave. And then we wring our hands. We are so upset. We have killed off this beautiful species. This species becomes beautiful. It becomes charismatic. It becomes this wonderful thing. And look at the horrible stuff we've done to it.

But when an animal is still there, we're kind of mad. We don't like it. It's now where we've decided it doesn't belong, even if it always lived there. Now it's our space. You don't belong there anymore. And we get really upset, especially if the animals begin to thrive and especially if they thrive off things we value, right? Our gardens, our crops, our cats. We really hate them.

But when an animal is still there, we're kind of mad. We don't like it. It's now where we've decided it doesn't belong, even if it always lived there. Now it's our space. You don't belong there anymore. And we get really upset, especially if the animals begin to thrive and especially if they thrive off things we value, right? Our gardens, our crops, our cats. We really hate them.

But when an animal is still there, we're kind of mad. We don't like it. It's now where we've decided it doesn't belong, even if it always lived there. Now it's our space. You don't belong there anymore. And we get really upset, especially if the animals begin to thrive and especially if they thrive off things we value, right? Our gardens, our crops, our cats. We really hate them.

We hate their success because their success feels like our failure, right?

We hate their success because their success feels like our failure, right?

We hate their success because their success feels like our failure, right?

That's actually something I got a lot when I was writing the book is it's humans. Humans are the real pests. We're the ones invading the world and taking it over and making it awful. I think that's too easy because it's the sort of thing that makes you fling up your hands and be like, oh, there's nothing I can do.

That's actually something I got a lot when I was writing the book is it's humans. Humans are the real pests. We're the ones invading the world and taking it over and making it awful. I think that's too easy because it's the sort of thing that makes you fling up your hands and be like, oh, there's nothing I can do.

That's actually something I got a lot when I was writing the book is it's humans. Humans are the real pests. We're the ones invading the world and taking it over and making it awful. I think that's too easy because it's the sort of thing that makes you fling up your hands and be like, oh, there's nothing I can do.

We have choices in the way that we treat other animals and we have choices in the way we treat each other. And we don't need to live the way that we always have.

We have choices in the way that we treat other animals and we have choices in the way we treat each other. And we don't need to live the way that we always have.

We have choices in the way that we treat other animals and we have choices in the way we treat each other. And we don't need to live the way that we always have.