In 2001, Sharon Pincott traded her privileged life as a high-flying corporate executive to start a new one with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe. She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years—the worst in Zimbabwe’s volatile history—this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them.

Now remote from Robert Mugabe’s rule, Sharon writes without restraint, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we’ve been waiting for.

Powerfully moving, sometimes disturbing and often very funny, Elephant Dawn is a celebration of love, courage and honour among our greatest land mammals. With resilience beyond measure, Sharon earns the supreme right to call them family.