Book Review: Opening Doors

Many emotions are experienced by the reader upon getting engrossed in Save The Chimps’ new memoir of their late leader. OpeningDoors: Carole Noon and Her Dream to Save the Chimps by Gary Ferguson follows the steps Dr. Carole Noon took to build her chimpanzee sanctuary. In the process, she unwittingly was building her legacy.

From her primatological beginnings at Zambia’s Chimfunshi sanctuary, to the moment when she had the realization that she was going to be responsible for 266 retired lab chimps (in addition to the 28 rescued chimpanzees already living at Save The Chimps in its early days), Opening Doors touches upon little moments that, together, illustrate how massive Dr. Noon’s accomplishments really were.

The reader has it easy; we get to simply read about the trials and tribulations, and marvel over how it all came together with a little luck and a lot of sweat. It’s difficult to believe that Dr. Noon actually accomplished this much in a relatively short period of time, especially because the path she took to build Save The Chimps was forged by her alone. Nobody had ever built a sanctuary on this scale before, but she was driven to do it because she knew that hundreds of chimpanzees were relying on her.

The photographs in Opening Doors are breathtaking, and the intermittent chimpanzee life stories that accompany the various portraits just may break your heart. At Save The Chimps, sensitive beings who spent decades in uncomfortable laboratory cages where they were subjected to painful medical procedures were finally given the chance at a better life. Instead of dwelling in their misfortune and succumbing to the emotional turmoil of their past, they were eager to move on with their lives, forging new families and friendships while feeling grass under their feet for the first time ever.

I was lucky enough to meet Carole Noon in 2008. She took me on a tour of Save The Chimps. We spoke about the vegetarian lifestyle we both had in common and she showed me the chimpanzee groups. It felt like I was meeting a celebrity. Her intensity intimidated me, although I tried - most likely, unsuccessfully - to hide it. Had Opening Doors existed at the time, its contents could have better prepared me more for the whirlwind that was this woman...maybe.

Dr. Noon’s life was cut short by cancer in 2009. If the book’s insights are any indication, I would think her humble and practical nature would be grateful that this book exists, if only because it shows the emotional resilience and strength not of herself, but of the chimpanzees.