Happiness is Green

Donna aimlessly daydreams of pulling up stakes and starting a new life, but never imagines a chance encounter with a new man will lead her to make a wild, impetuous decision that catapults her on a soul-changing journey.

Living in the Amazon rainforest where a host of curious jungle creatures visit her jungle shack, she narrowly dodges disaster on a raging river, gets lost in a tropical swamp, and is struck down by a tormenting tropical disease. But none of that compares to what happens when she embarks on a scientific field trip that unexpectedly alters the course of her life.

Tested mentally, physically and spiritually, Donna feels lost in the wilderness, but it is hard for her to be lost when pure joy pounds in her heart and she discovers the way to live her one precious life.

Despite being accosted by angry ants and battling inclement weather, she begins work from a tree platform where she captures rare moments in the lives of wild animals, befriends a water-loving agouti, and forms a special bond with a tree, which convinces her it was her wild self who coerced her to travel over ten thousand miles so that it could unleash itself.

Written with laugh-out-loud humour and deep compassion, Donna poignantly captures the isolation, challenges, and true beauty of the rainforest where she literally rises above the limitations of her once modern life.

“The big takeaway for me is the fact none of us knows the direction life will take us. It is only when we open our heart and eyes that opportunities present themselves. Bravo to all who have the courage to travel the meandering lane to the unknown.”—Ron Melchiore, Off Grid and Free: My Path to the Wilderness

“Deeply personal, moving, funny, and satisfying ... Reading Donna Mulvenna is like having a heart-to-heart with your best friend about the things that truly matter.”—Jessica Groenendijk, The Giant Otter: Giants of the Amazon