West with Giraffes: A Novel

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

Lynda Rutledge is the bestselling author of West with Giraffes, translated into 16 languages and selected by Library of Congress-affiliated Texas Center for the Book as their 2023 Great Read. She’s also the author of Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale, winner of the 2013 Writers League of Texas Fiction Award which was adapted into a 2019 French film starring Catherine Deneuve and the newly-released Mockingbird Summer set in 1964 on the eve of the Sixties' massive cultural change.

She holds a BA and MA in American literature and an MFA in creative writing. In her eclectic career before becoming a novelist, she was a full-time professional writer––a freelance journalist, copywriter, film reviewer, book collaborator, and travel writer. After years residing in urban locales such as Chicago and San Diego, she currently lives with her husband outside Austin, Texas.

For much more information about all her books as well as Lynda herself, visit her website: www.lyndarutledge dot com

A Texas Center for the Book Great Read Selection

“A delightful read.” ―The New York Times Book Review

“West with Giraffes is truly a fun read…I [can’t] imagine a reading list that would not contain Lynda Rutledge’s astonishing novel.” ―Old Naples News

“Every year I find at least one book that soars above all the others. This year West With Giraffes is that book.” ―Florida Times Union

“A flawless novel.” ―Austin American-Statesman

“A perfect balance between history and fiction.” ―POPSUGAR

“[A] larger-than-life story about the power of both animal magnetism and human connection…witty, charming, and heartwarming.” ―Booklist

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge is a heartfelt historical novel set during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, following the unlikely journey of two young giraffes across America in 1938. The story opens with an elderly man named Woodrow Wilson Nickel, known as Woody, reflecting on his life from a nursing home in California. At seventeen, Woody was a dust-ravaged orphan from Oklahoma who had lost everything to the storms and poverty of the era. When he hears about two giraffes that survived a hurricane and a shipwreck off the coast of New York, he becomes obsessed with seeing them. The animals are being transported by truck all the way to the San Diego Zoo, and Woody decides he will follow them no matter what it takes.

The giraffes, nicknamed Girl and Boy, are placed in the care of a gruff but experienced animal handler named Riley Jones. Riley has driven many exotic animals before, but this trip is different. The giraffes are young, skittish, and in need of constant attention during the long cross-country haul. Woody manages to talk his way into helping Riley after a chance meeting, offering his strong back and willingness to work for almost nothing. Along the way they are joined by a sharp-tongued young photographer named Augusta, whom everyone calls Red. She is determined to document the journey and sell the pictures to newspapers, adding both tension and unexpected warmth to the traveling trio.

The road trip itself becomes the heart of the story. Driving an old rig with a specially built crate for the giraffes, the group travels through rainstorms, dust clouds, small towns, and vast empty stretches of highway. They must stop frequently to feed and water the animals, clean their enclosure, and keep them calm. Woody learns how to handle the giraffes with patience and gentleness, forming a deep bond with them that surprises even him. Riley teaches him the practical skills of animal care and the quiet discipline needed on the road, while Red pushes Woody to think about his future and what kind of man he wants to become. The journey is filled with small adventures: narrow escapes from suspicious locals, run-ins with the law, and moments of quiet wonder when the giraffes stretch their long necks toward the sky at sunset.

Throughout the trip, Woody’s past catches up with him in flashbacks. He remembers the dust storms that destroyed his family’s farm, the death of his parents, and the hunger and desperation that followed. The giraffes represent something larger than just animals for him. They stand for survival, beauty, and the possibility of starting over in a world that has already taken so much. Riley carries his own burdens, including a hidden health issue and the memory of animals he could not save in the past. Red, meanwhile, is fighting to be taken seriously as a photographer in a time when women were rarely given such opportunities. Their shared experiences on the road slowly turn them into a makeshift family.

As they near California, the challenges grow more intense. The giraffes become ill, the truck breaks down, and external pressures threaten to end the trip prematurely. Woody must decide how far he is willing to go to protect the animals and the people he has come to care about. The final stretch of the journey tests everyone’s courage and reveals the quiet strength each character possesses. When they finally deliver the giraffes to the San Diego Zoo, the moment is both triumphant and bittersweet, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter for all of them.

The novel closes with the elderly Woody looking back on that summer with a mixture of pride and longing. He never forgot the giraffes or the people who traveled with them, and the experience shaped the rest of his life in ways he could never have imagined as a dust-blown teenager. Lynda Rutledge blends real historical events with rich, emotional storytelling, capturing the feel of 1930s America and the simple wonder of two exotic animals crossing a country in need of hope. The book celebrates resilience, unlikely friendships, and the healing power of caring for something beyond oneself.