Wild country produces wild people, who sometimes are just what’s needed to keep that wild cycle going. This is a memorable portrait.

Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, winner of the 2013 Gandhi Peace Award, founder of 350.org

A true action hero, Carol Ruckdeschel is using her powers of insight, persuasion, and personal commitment to protect a wilderness island off the coast of Georgia. She’s not just bemoaning the tragic decline of the natural world that sustains all life on earth, humans and turtles included. She is also putting her own life on the line to save what’s left. Thanks to Carol, there is hope for wild creatures who have preceded humankind by hundreds of millions of years—and hope for an enduring future for ourselves as well.

Sylvia Earle, National Geographic explorer-in-residence, TED Prize winner, Time's first Hero of the Planet

Carol Ruckdeschel isn’t quite your mother’s idea of a role model, but she is my idea of an inspiring woman. Her gifts are many, her commitment resolute, her contribution world-class. And boy—as you’ll read—has she had fun. What a story! It’s as beautiful as the island she loves.

Carl Safina, author of The View From Lazy Point and A Sea in Flames