Wolves abound through cultural folklore and through literature - vilified and venerated in
equal measure. In Wolfish Erica Berry examines these depictions alongside her own research of
the wolf over seven years to get to the heart of the paradoxical pull people feel to the
creature that simultaneously repels them: ?What does it mean to want to embody the same
creature from which you are supposed to be running?' The wolf is so often depicted as the male
predator preying on the vulnerable girl woman who strays from the path the she-wolf meanwhile
depicts women who sit outside the accepted boundaries of feminine behaviour. Berry openly
recounts her own uncomfortable and sometimes frightening experiences as a woman to try to
understand how we navigate our fears when threat can seem constant. Through it all Berry finds
new expressions for courage and survival: how to be a brave human and animal member of our
fragile often dangerous world.
