Author Talk and Book Signing: "Eyes in the Soles of My Feet"

For the last seven years, natural history writer Caroline Sutton has been walking the shores, lawns, and forests of eastern Long Island—often in the company of her young granddaughter—developing a new and unique perspective on the world around her.

The result is EYES IN THE SOLES OF MY FEET: From Horseshoe Crabs to Sycamores, Exploring Hidden Connections to the Natural World (Schaffner Press, October 1, 2025, $27.95 hardcover). “What ethos—and often ignorance—drives our decisions to nurture or to kill?” she asks in the book’s preface.

Planting yarrow in her garden, she simultaneously pulls out clumps of clover. Learning that both species are considered weeds, defined as “plants growing in the wrong place,” she begins to challenge herself, and the view of the world she is introducing to her granddaughter.

“The idea of considering the many ways to see and otherwise sense the world ignited my curiosity as to how nonhuman species go about their lives using their sensory powers,” she continues. “What I learned quickly leveled any hierarchical values traditionally accorded human and nonhuman perception.”

Over the course of twenty-nine essays, Sutton observes a variety of flora and fauna, making surprising observations that could be explored in interviews.

“Recognizing our own limitations can lead us to question our assumptions,” Sutton concludes. “It can inspire empathy and respect for the plants and animals that share the air we breathe, whose survival is intertwined with ours. Clearly, a fundamental change in our attitudes toward the natural world, not just a quick nod of appreciation, is critical if we are to preserve our wealth of ecosystems for the grandchildren of our grandchildren and beyond.”

Natural history writer Caroline Sutton has been writing and contributing essays over the years to a variety of notable nature journals and literary publications, among them, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, Terrain.org, North American Review, Cimarron Review, and The Los Angeles Review. In 2012, Sutton received Southern Humanities Review’s Theodore Christian Hoepfner Award for her essay, “Eclipsed,” and her work has been cited frequently among notable essays in Best American Essays.

A former book editor and high school creative non-fiction writing teacher, Caroline is also the author of the bestselling book How Do They Do That? that sold over a million copies. She later published a collection of essays, Don't Mind Me, I Just Died and a memoir, Mainlining. She currently makes her home in East Hampton, New York.