The Will of Heaven

An Inspiring True Story About Elephants, Alcoholism, and Hope

By: Debbie Ethell

Narrated by: Debbie Ethell

The Will of Heaven is the powerful true story of how one woman overcame a debilitating addiction - rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation research scientist. It was there she could finally fulfill her lifelong dream of working with wild elephants.

Debbie Ethell became obsessed by a group of elephants in Kenya when she was eight years old after seeing them on a PBS nature show. Over the next several years, her obsession grew - until a group of school bullies left her contemplating suicide.

By the time she was 26, an addiction to alcohol robbed her of nearly everything except her dreams...and it nearly took those too. Left with one final option and more judges in her life than friends, she entered a treatment center and then a halfway house, where she slowly learned how to live life sober.

The Will of Heaven vividly captures her serendipitous journey as she discovers her inner strength - not unlike that of the elephants whose stories she tells. Part biography, part revelation, this story will inspire others to reach further than they ever thought they could. Above all, it conveys a strong message of hope, both for elephants fighting to survive poaching and for alcoholics fighting to survive addiction.

©2018 Deborah Mae Ethell (P)2019 Deborah Mae Ethell

A book of hope for elephants and people

I loved this book. I loved it so much that after listening to it I bought the physical copy. This book does not focus on the poaching aspect of elephants in Kenya. Instead it focuses on the hope and success of orphaned elephants. I have read all the books I can find on elephants and they usually focus on poaching, mistreatment and they just make elephants futures seem hopeless. Not is this book. The book is a true story, read by the author, about her journey through and out of addiction. She uses the real life stories of the orphaned elephants, that she has studied since a childhood, at the Kenyan based David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and its founders as inspiration to get her through her troubled times. Their inspiring stories helped guide and push her to obtain her dreams. The stories she relates with the elephants brought me tears of wonder at how loving, intelligent and most importantly compassionate these animals are. After reading this book I feel like I have no excuse to reach for my dreams. The author literally pulled herself out of rock bottom and took many chances that were scary and daunting and achieved her wildest dreams. She also founded the KOTA Foundation For Elephants. Such a cool story. I can't wait for her other books to come out.

Excellent book!

This is the most amazing and interesting book. I especially loved all the information and about the elephants and especially learning about their emotional side. They are my favourite animals. I just love them. I am so glad that you were healed of alcoholism, a terrible disease. Rosemary Moolman, South Africa

a story of struggle and triumph

this is a story that animal lovers will love... along with non fiction readers. it's a story of triumph over struggles and how life can give you good surprises not always negative. It's about overcoming... while yes it follows a alcoholic and addiction can be replaced here to get the life lessons it teaches.

What would Eleanor (and Debbie F. Ethell) do!?

What would Eleanor (and Debbie F. Ethell) do?!

I'll tell you what:
They would both do what they must.

I listened to this book for 3 initial reasons:
1) I love Elephants with all of my heart. Over the years, I have befriended some captive elephants, adopted some wild ones, and I have read (devoured?) more books about elephants than I can count.
2) I am related by marriage to an amazing person who is a recovering alcoholic (over 4 years sober!), and I wanted to learn more about the disease and the very difficult and courageous journey of the 12 steps.
3) I believe in women's empowerment and women supporting other women, and how much female humans can learn from the very wise female elephants in our world.

I was not disappointed! Debbie is a wellspring of knowledge about elephants in general and specifically all of the elephants that have been rescued and rewilded by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. And I mean ALL of them. Then, you add the fact that Debbie is an amazing storyteller, and that's quite literally how the Will of Heaven came together.

Whatever you think you know about elephants, you can still learn more through this beautiful book. Whatever you think you know about alcoholism or recovery from any addiction, you have never had the opportunity to hear Debbie's story until now. She puts it all out there, and I am so very grateful. I laughed and cried. I did not want the book to end. I felt as if Debbie was right next to me in my car on my daily commute, telling me all of these stories, as if we were new friends. Thank you, Debbie. Please keep writing - Leslie would want you to!

PS: okay, F. is not Debbie's middle initial, but IYKYK. 🙂