“This riveting story of the ‘making of a maker’ is more than a memoir, it is a testament to nature’s role in creativity. The author’s persistence and intuitive spirit come through in every chapter, inviting readers to embrace their own path toward wholeness and authenticity. Moving, illuminating and inspiring.”
—Heidi Gerpheide, publisher of California Homes Magazine

“Levine’s story of resilience is framed by an account of a fire in California that threatened her home, her horses, and human life. . . . Her prose dazzles. . . . Driven by new experiences and personal revelations, the fascinating, creative memoir This or Something Better is a story about remaking a life.”
—Foreword Reviews

“In this beautifully written memoir, Elisa Stancil Levine takes the reader on a wild ride through her extraordinary life journey. Through it all she explores the combination of surrender and decisive action, trust and wariness, solitude and human connection, intuition and painstaking self-inquiry, and grace and sheer hard labor that lie at the heart of the great mystery of human resilience.”
—Noelle Oxenhandler, author of The Wishing Year

“Elisa Stancil Levine . . . is too much of everything—too loud, too passionate, too smart, too ambitious. Her only solace is her bond with nature. When her trust is violated she takes refuge in nature, yet keeps trying to find the relationships she wants and needs. Elisa’s story is essentially a spiritual quest. Readers will feel confident that she at last discovers what it really means to be human.”
—Susan Speranza, author of Ice Out and The Tale of Lucia Grandi, the Early Years

“Elisa Stancil Levine's memoir embarks on a rich journey to earlier times in the rural foothills of California—and sweeps up to date to firsthand accounts of wildfire and drought in today’s Sonoma County. Her stories of growing up in a world full of both wonder and danger are unique—told with frank detail, coming to conclusions about curiosities she encounters with both balance and generosity. She fills every page with beauty and learning.”
—Rebecca Lawton, author of Swimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems