In the same way that sagas, both ancient and modern, plot out the lives of incredible humans, so “Heart of a Lion”, by author William Stolzenburg, skillfully plots out the life of an incredible animal. Yet, his story will inspire you and leave you in awe of the tenacity of the natural world because this lion traveled over 1500 miles, through some of the most developed areas of the north east in search of a home, food, and love. “Heart of a Lion” is the compellingly told story of a young male mountain lion, that left South Dakota in search of his own territory, commonplace for dispersing adolescents. Our minds attend the lessons of a well taught tale, and this tale has all these elements. We learn of feats and failures, adoration and abhorrence, winning and losing, right and wrong, hope and despair. Our earliest communication, whether as a culture or as individual human babies, comes through the magic of stories. Stories are the purveyors of history, vehicles by which facts are disseminated, and the wings that let imagination soar. It is a testament to the resilience of nature, and a test of humanity's willingness to live again beside the ultimate symbol of wildness.The value of storytelling can never be underestimated. Heart of a Lion is a story of one heroic creature pitting instinct against towering odds, coming home to a society deeply divided over his return. Along the way, the lion traverses lands with people gunning for his kind, as well as those championing his cause. William Stolzenburg retraces his two-year journey-from his embattled birthplace in the Black Hills, across the Great Plains and the Mississippi River, through Midwest metropolises and remote northern forests, to his tragic finale upon Connecticut's Gold Coast. It was the farthest landbound trek ever recorded for a wild animal in America, by a barely weaned teenager venturing solo through hostile terrain.

The lion was three years old, with a DNA trail embarking from the Black Hills of South Dakota on a cross-country odyssey eventually passing within thirty miles of New York City. But a more fantastic scenario of facts soon unfolded. Speculations ran wild, the wildest of which figured him a ghostly survivor from a bygone century when lions last roamed the eastern United States. Beside the road lay a 140-pound mountain lion.

The creature appeared as something out of New England's forgotten past.

Late one June night in 2011, a large animal collided with an SUV cruising down a Connecticut parkway.

Heart of a lion by william stolzenburg