Dazzling. Prepare to be enchanted. Prepare to love the darkness.

"A lyrical, fascinating story about exploring the secret world of darkness and the remarkable creatures within it...Henion writes with poetic grace, blending her journey of discovery with the natural wonders in our own backyards."

"The science intrigues...Henion's greatest gift is her ability to evoke the sense of wonder that follows from tuning in to the natural world. This will fill readers with awe."

"Lovely…truly inspired…and very clever…An appreciation of nature’s nocturnal organisms can help us reset our relationship with the night…That’s the gift of Night Magic: It may make you think differently about the night. I know it has for me."

"In Night Magic, darkness is revered, and its secrets are revealed...Henion's vivid style of nature writing and complementary self-reflection are reminders that witnessing the extraordinary can be as easy as shifting your bedtime back an hour and going outside."

"Henion’s science-based book about the flora and fauna that adorn the nightscape is also a philosophical exploration of the role darkness plays in our lives…Culture tells us to 'step into the light,' but she asks what might happen if we pause in the darkness to witness what it offers — looking at the life forms that arise, seeing how a familiar landscape can change, and staying alert to the possibility of wonder."

“Henion takes readers on a series of adventures exploring the natural world at night in a voice that seamlessly vacillates between storyteller and poet…After reading Night Magic you might find yourself viewing light pollution a little more disparagingly. And you might just experience a little more wonder in your everyday life.”

"Henion's sweet, wise book...is a revelation. You're likely to come away from Night Magic...educated and inspired. Henion writes often of human responses to darkness that allow us to recognize and reconsider it, and to embrace its tranquility and beauty."

"Henion, a nature and travel writer, skips the exotic locales to find wonder in the nighttime world of her own backyard, inspiring readers to look outside, too. Her observations are rich with insights about flora and fauna...Viewers of Night on Earth, the wildlife documentary series, this one is for you."

"Night Magic is personal and personable...Readers who choose to follow Henion into the dark may find the courage to turn off that backyard floodlight, allow their eyes to adjust, and see something spectacular."

"Readers will want to sleep with one eye open to the wonders of nocturnal activity after discovering this wonderful and busy world."

 Even a cynic reading Phenomenal will yearn for a taste of wonder, because it...reminds us that we are all made of stardust.  

 Part travel memoir, part parenting manifesto, and part inquiry into those fleeting, extraordinary glimpses of something that left us groping for rational explanations in the quicksand of all-encompassing wonder.  

 Leigh Ann Henion's Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer's Search for Wonder in the Natural World is an inspiring nonfiction narrative about exploration and identity...It's a fascinating journey, and Henion chronicles it with the heart and eye of an artist. This delightful hybrid of a book blends memoir, history, and philosophy into a modern meditation on the quest for a fulfilled life. 

 What would it be like to experience the world with a child's sense of wonder? That is the question that Leigh Ann Henion succeeded in answering after the birth of her son. Jolted and spurred by his arrival, she decided to explore beyond home in search of the moments of wonder that she remembered from her own youth. Her quest was ambitious, inspiring her into encounters with Arctic reindeer herders, astrophysicists, and unforgettable lightning storms. A refreshing wake-up call to living in the natural world; editor's recommendation.