Iowa City, Iowa — A recently-retired University of Iowa professor is publishing her first book, which she says is a combination of memoir and an environmental call to action.
Maureen McCue has worked as a physician, educator and researcher in countries around the globe, but says her quiet lifestyle in Oxford — just outside Iowa City — affords her time to enjoy the beauty of nature, while also observing unsettling changes in those surroundings.
Her book explores the connections between rural and urban life in eastern Iowa and her experiences in Ecuador, India, Haiti, Bangladesh and elsewhere. The animals are key indicators, she says, in displaying harbingers.
In the book entitled “Birds in the Morning, Frogs at Night. Sharing Life Along the Road,” McCue discusses how humanity is integrated into nature and she urges people to become more aware of the connection between our lives and the land.
People around the world are facing similar challenges, she says, whether they live in the city or the country.
McCue was a professor in the Colleges of Public Health and Liberal Arts and Sciences, and co-founded the U-I’s Global Health Studies Program. The 264-page book is available now through the North Liberty-based Ice Cube Press.
