Sean Gerrity is the founder of American Prairie, a Montana-based conservation organization dedicated to restoring and protecting large-scale ecosystems. A National Geographic Explorer, Gerrity serves on multiple advisory boards focused on global conservation, including African People and Wildlife and the Kratt Brothers Creature Hero Foundation. Raised in Great Falls, Montana, Gerrity now lives in Bozeman with his wife, Kayla Gerrity.

"An especially inspiring story given the outsize obstacles they have faced, but the author goes a step further by laying out a coherent, utterly clarifying, and practical framework by which readers themselves might discover their own pathways to equally impactful, fulfilling lives. A unique and inspiring title that blends living history with self-actualization."
--BOOKLIST (starred review)

"A powerful, candid memoir from the founder of a prominent nonprofit organization, Wild on Purpose contains an optimistic vision for the future of nature conservation."
--FOREWORD REVIEWS

"I am certain that the great conservationists who gave us national parks and the Wilderness and Endangered Species acts never once imagined something like American Prairie. But the most exciting environmental idea of the 21st century is a massive private-lands effort to re-create our lost American Serengeti, and Sean Gerrity is the Muir-like visionary who launched it. Wild On Purpose is Sean's story of how this globally-famous idea came to be. I wager Americans will still be reading this book a century from now."
--DAN FLORES, New York Times bestselling author of Coyote America and Wild New World

"Wild on Purpose is the deeply personal, inside account of a great experiment in large landscape conservation. We need more Sean Gerritys!"
--BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN, True West and American Zion

"Wild places are dying and disappearing from agricultural overuse and under acres of asphalt. Gerrity's Wild on Purpose is part memoir, part conservation narrative, part origin story, and a much needed call-to-action to reimagine, protect, and revitalize the wild spaces of the Western prairie. Beautifully written, compelling, and a reminder that action is needed now more than ever."
--REBECCA LEBER-GOTTBERG, Rediscovered Books co-owner

"Wild on Purpose challenges the notion that our greatest nature conservation successes are behind us. Sean Gerrity's story demonstrates that the most ambitious and exciting work is yet to come, and rewilding is at the heart of it."
--KRIS TOMPKINS, President & Co-Founder of Tompkins Conservation and former CEO of Patagonia

"Gerrity is an impressive leader and an inspiring conservationist who can teach us all a thing or two about turning magnificent dreams into glorious reality. I've had the privilege of hiking and paddling through part of the American Prairie project area with him while filming BBC's The America's documentary series, and I was blown away by his vision, commitment and achievements. The effort of prairie rewilding is an astonishing, bold idea. Read Wild on Purpose, learn more about thinking big, creating change, helping improve our planet."
--SIMON REEVE, Journeys to Impossible Places

"A book about the future of conservation couldn't have come at a better time. Amidst so much uncertainty, the story of the American Prairie Reserve stands as a guiding light, showing how large-scale conservation efforts can create space for the biodiversity and humanity that nature intended. It's a powerful reminder that the impossible becomes possible when your vision is clear. Wild on Purpose is a powerful story of how a visionary made the impossible possible."
--KATRINA MENDREY, Chapter One Bookstore co-owner

Publisher: Torrey House Press

Pub date: 2025-11-04

Length: 336 pages