Gretel Ehrlich is the author of 15 books, including The Solace of Open Spaces, Islands, The Universe, Home, A Match to the Heart, A Blizzard Year, and The Future of Ice. Her most recent book is Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami, which was Longlisted for the National Book Award in She has won many awards, including the PEN Henry David Thoreau Award, a Guggenheim.