Andrew Westoll spent months at Fauna Sanctuary, a refuge for thirteen chimps rescued from a research lab, as a volunteer caregiver. In The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, Westoll vividly recounts his adventures in the chimp house and the heart-wrenching histories of its residents. He arrives with dreams of striking up an immediate friendship with the legendary Tom, a father figure to the rest of the chimps. Tom proves the greatest teacher to the indomitable Gloria Grow, who presides over the sanctuary. Through Westoll’s eyes, we witness the chimps’ remarkable recovery first-hand. Simple things like establishing friendships, nurturing alliances, grooming one another and playing games of tickle-chase are all poignant testament to the capacity of these animals to heal—and to learn how to be chimps again.

ANDREW WESTOLL is an award-winning narrative journalist and internationally published author. A former biologist and primatologist, his books include The Riverbones, a travel memoir set in the jungles of Suriname, and The Chimps Of Fauna Sanctuary, which was a national bestseller and winner of the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. The Jungle South of the Mountain is his first novel.

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• Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year
• Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction
• CBA Libris Award for Non-Fiction
• Amazon.ca Best Book of the Year
• Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
• CBC Canada Reads
• British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction
• Quill & Quire Best Book

“Andrew Westoll is a born story teller: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, written with empathy and skill, tenderness and humour, involves us in a world few understand. And leaves us marveling at the ways in which chimpanzees are so like us, deserve our help and are entitled to our respect.” — Jane Goodall, DBE

“Riveting. . . . Andrew Westoll provides an opera of dramatic events, heart-rending tragedies and uplifting triumphs. For anyone interested in empathy and recovery, his book is required reading.” — The Globe and Mail

“Revealing and fascinating.” — National Post

“Only the most intransigent heart will be unmoved.” — Quill & Quire

“A distressing, deeply important exposé of the suffering we have inflicted on our closest animal relation, the ethics of animal testing, and finally (and happily) a heartening picture of Fauna Sanctuary’s commitment and compassion.” — Publishers Weekly

“With compelling realism, recalling both Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad, Andrew Westoll tells a riveting story of loss and redemption in the jungles of South America. [The Jungle South of the Mountain]” — Yann Martel

“Drawn into sharp focus by Westoll’s beautiful writing, the jungle and its animal inhabitants become characters in their own right. . . . This is a haunting story so impressively told; an evocative and absorbing first novel.” [The Jungle South of the Mountain] — Amy Stuart, author of Still Mine

“The Jungle South of the Mountain is a gripping study of foreignness, whether it be within relationships, geographies, or even between species. Andrew Westoll’s first novel is as engaging as it is thoughtful.” — Andrew Pyper, author of The Damned and The Demonologist

“A captivating story, set in an original and fascinating world rich in authentic detail. [The Jungle South of the Mountain]” — Cecilia Ekback, author of Wolf Winter

“A fascinating read, beautifully written, and with a gripping story.” — SJ Watson, author of Before I Go to Sleep