Something happened the other day. I’d just finished working on the first edit of Voices from the Mist when an agouti paca mother stood right outside my office. Of course, she scurried back to her den to protect her babies but I stayed behind in the garden and took a deep breath.

As I continue my mission to retrace the last days of Dian Fossey in my upcoming book, Voices from the Mist, an underlying theme keeps surfacing. Dian experienced trauma during childhood, as many of us have. She felt betrayed by those who were supposed to love and protect her. Awareness of the source of our trauma gives us the opportunity to make more healthy choices. There is a process of recovery. I've learned how to become aware of trauma, choose my response to it, and manage it.

Today, I want to talk about the importance of dreams. Rather than encourage Dian to follow her dream of studying gorillas in Africa, her parents discouraged it.

For Dian Fossey, Christmas was an epic event. Perhaps her unhappy childhood made her long for a traditional and joyful celebration, one she could take to the nth degree. She had always given gifts and candies to children in nearby villages. Once Dian established Karisoke, she invited her staff, their spouses, and children to join in the festivities every year.

As I look back on 2020, it's been a year of turning challenges into opportunities. Restricted driving days saved us a lot of money on gas. I like the idea of hand sanitizer outside every business — it makes me conscious of my health and the health of others, even people I don't know. I've had more time to write.

Dian Fossey loved her pets too. Even though she was never allowed to have one after she was devastated when her goldfish died when she was a child, she made up for it later in Africa. Her first pets were a couple of chickens whom she named Lucy and Dezi. She had to escape with her life from Congolese soldiers and was unable to rescue them.