First Black Woman To Host A Wildlife Show On TV Shares Journey Of Embracing A Career In STEM In New Book

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, wildlife ecologist and co-host of NBC’s Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, has now added the title of author to her already impressive resume.

Wynn-Grant, who also created and hosts the award-winning podcast Going Wild, has penned her memoir, “Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World,” which “explores the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and the earth through her personal journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist.”

As Wynn-Grant told ESSENCE, “It’s very much the origin story of a Black girl trying to do something super different.”

“You don’t have to be a nature or wild animal lover to appreciate the memoir,” she shared. “It touches on personal stuff that I think any Black woman can relate to. I talk about the discrimination that I’ve faced, and sometimes wasn’t able to overcome. I talk about relationships with Black men in my life that have been painful or harmful, and the ones that have been healthy. I talk about parenting my Black children and I talk a lot about the moments that the Black Lives Matter movement intersected with important career moments for me.”

“In a lot of ways, I feel like this book is for us, and for the Black women who have come before me and will come after me,” said Wynn-Grant.

When asked about how she manages to balance it all, Wynn-Grant candidly replied, “my strategy has shifted away from trying to find balance to acceptance. It’s actually been very freeing for me to internalize that, and realize, I don’t have example. I don’t have a blueprint for this life and so, if every day feels different, and that’s okay. The best thing I can do is constantly check in with myself and my loved ones to make sure that everyone feels aligned with how we’re living this crazy nontraditional life.”

In her book, Wynn-Grant discusses how she achieved her childhood dream, and offered up some words of wisdom for others who have wild dreams. “My advice for young Black people who want to enter into a nontraditional space is to be gentle with yourself because sometimes we’re socialized to believe that all you need to achieve your dreams is passion, and determination. But I really disagree with that, especially being Black, because sometimes there are barriers to success, that are real and sometimes systemic or societal,” says Wynn-Grant. “You could be the most passionate person that’s ever walked the Earth and there could be things that actually prevent you from achieving those dreams,” she added.

“What kept me going? What kept me passionate, honestly, it was science,” Wynn-Grant explained . “If you were to just take a random person off the street, and say, ‘name a scientist,’ they’d probably say ‘Albert Einstein.’ If you said, ‘name a scientist that’s alive today,’ they’d probably name a white person. I have this belief that my work will not be complete until there’s a Black scientist out there in the world that becomes a household name. If it’s me, that would be awesome. But I really think our society will become better, richer, stronger, particularly the Black community when scientists can become household names like we can name athletes, musicians, and other heroes of ours.”