Early Reviews

"A truly unique nature book, that drives home how wild so much of the world still is, even in places that we think of as 'settled.' Perhaps these remarkable images will remind you to work a little harder for the salvation of this magical planet."

BILL MCKIBBEN, author Here Comes the Sun

"The writing in DOWNWIND is fully alive with sensual detail, a brilliant piece of non-fiction that conveys the secret lives of many of our natural creatures-- wild and free. Nancy Smith clearly has her nose to the ground. The book is beautifully composed with photography, humor and astonishing detail, a must read for everyone in the Berkshires, and far beyond. A sequel will be forthcoming, but this the place to start-- like a signpost pointing you deeper into unmarked territory, deeper into your own untamed nature. This gift of planetary beauty feels like a blessing undeserved."

LAURA CHESTER, author Shovels & Chandeliers, 2026

"Nancy Smith is renowned within the conservation community as a champion of wildlands and wildlife in the northeastern United States where she has helped secure hundreds of thousands of acres of wildland.... With her new book Downwind, she earns her place among the keenly observant Nature writers of the East. She writes beautifully and lovingly about animals of her home region, the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Nancy offers caring perspectives on Beavers, Wild Turkeys, Ruffed Grouse, orb-weaving spiders, and wild and domestic dogs and cats (including Wolves, Cougars, and Bobcats). Read Downwind to better understand our neighbors, from drumming birds to roaming carnivores, that we might share the Northern Forest of the Berkshires and beyond with the full array of furred and feathered friends."

JOHN DAVIS, co-founder Wildlands Network, former executive director The Rewilding Institute, and rewilding advocate at Adirondack Council

"With deft craft Nancy Smith sets our internal compasses on curiosity and compassion to guide us where Downwind opens the ecological door, so that we may walk out among our more-than-human neighbors in the rich biodiversity of the Berkshires. Getting to know ‘who’ our wild neighbors are rather than 'othering' them is essential for developing the equity that co-existence requires of us all. These wonderfully compelling animal biographies will encourage each of us to take that step out, orient our compasses, and engage the wonders of wild life as fellow residents.

PAM YOUNGQUIST, PhD, Animal Agency Advocate

Not since reading Annie Dillard’s book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek fifty years ago have I felt my eyes and heart opening to the natural world the way reading Downwind has just done for me. With stunning photography and loving, lyrical, often dramatic prose, Nancy Smith reveals the wild lives of animals in the Berkshires ranging from the enthusiastic bumblebee and the artful spider, to necking gobblers, family-loving grey wolves, the elusive mountain lion, and even the giant moose. Her night cameras shine a fascinating light on fauna roaming in the dark. After seeing coyotes and bobcats glittering in the camera’s silver light, the term “night life” will never be the same for me.

ANNE MAKEPEACE, Filmmaker and Author