Through the Eyes of Ernest: A Memoir to Honor Elephants

Ernest is an elephant, one of thousands of elephants kept in zoos and circuses for the amusement of humans. Throughout the day, humans stare at him and make silly faces. At night, he’s confined to a tiny enclosure.

Born in captivity, Ernest has no idea about life in the wild, where close-knit families of elephants live as long as humans—presuming humans let them. His first elephant friend, wild born Frankie, tells Ernest all about the pleasures of living wild, and the family he misses so much.

When humans send Ernest to the circus to perform, he meets other wild born elephants, including wise old Mary and majestic, motherly Eve. Ernest learns more about what he’s been denied even as he discovers the rigorous, sometimes brutal world of circus training.

A somber but ultimately hopeful tale told from an elephant’s point of view, Through the Eyes of Ernest asks us to consider why we keep such intelligent, social animals in captivity.