The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A True Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll

A raw, moving look at the lives of emotionally and physically damaged chimpanzees. Westoll recounts his time spent with Gloria Grew at her Canadian chimp rehab center. Grew rescues chimpanzees from horrid situations. After many years of abuse, cruelty and shocking treatment she attempts to give these creatures the freedom to live in peace. Each profiled chimp is fighting his or her own heartbreaking battle to heal.

I loved this story, kudos to Westoll for bringing these chimps to life on the page. One of my early dreams in life was to become a veterinarian specializing in primatology. Unfortunately, that was not to be and I regret that I didn’t choose to continue on that path. Always an avid activist, in college I did extensive research on biomedical research and it is absolutely horrifying. Those images will never leave my head. 

Gloria Grew is simply an angel. I appreciated this quote “I believe we can make miracles happen every day if we just help someone in need,’ says Gloria, ‘I think that’s why we’re here on Earth. We need to be of service, or our lives will be empty. God put us here for a reason, and I believe that reason is service.” If only there were more Gloria’s in the world! I admire her.

You can see more about this amazing operation at Faunasancturay.org.