Terry Tempest Williamsová zakladá svoje písanie v americkom Západe, výrazne ovplyvnené vyprahnutou krajinou Utahu, kde vyrastala. Jej tvorba sa pohybuje od tém ekológie a ochrany divočiny, cez zdravie žien, až po skúmanie nášho vzťahu ku kultúre a prírode. Williamsová svoje literárne dielo prepája s angažovanosťou a jej jedinečný hlas, presiaknutý láskou k Zemi, vyzýva čitateľov k reflexii nad naším miestom v prírode.
As a Mormon child, the author slept under the two outer panels of Bosch's Garden of Delights. After discovering the existence of the central panel in the Prado, she was drawn to write about her fascination with the entire triptych and the connections to her personal life, the "relationship with nature, the divide between religion and spirituality, and the question of how to preserve wilderness."--Booklist review.
The author describes her Mormon upbringing, juxtaposing these reminiscences with discussions of the flooding of a wildlife bird sanctuary and its effect on that ecosystem, and her family's legacy of cancer