This book alternately uplifts and depresses the sensitive reader. What did you find uplifting about the first chapter? Depressing?

The no-holds-barred look at both the beauty and the ugliness of the natural world is both uplifting and depressing. Peering closely at a frog, the author watches as it dissolves before her eyes, leaving only the skin floating. A giant water beetle had sucked out the innards of the frog. Dillard had once seen a mockingbird make a dive bomb towards the grass, making a feather light landing at the last moment. Upon witnessing the bird, Dillard decides that beauty and grace both occur.