My walking buddies and I circle the Lincoln Park South pond on every opportunity. Through the summer, we worried that fewer turtles came to study us this year as we leaned over the pond railing to admire them. The book Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery tells us we are right to worry. (We don’t look for turtles in the winter. They bury themselves in the mud for warmth.)

Ms. Montgomery points out that turtles are a link to our distant past. They populated our planet over 250 million years ago. “…they walked with the dinosaurs.”

The book introduces the Turtle Rescue League and its founders who are determined to heal wounded turtles and better, to prevent their destruction. Like us, turtles are endangered by pollution, climate change, loss of habitat, cars and invasive species. But they are also hunted for meat and eggs by people, dogs, raccoons, and skunks.

Of Time and Turtles tells astounding stories of turtle healing. They can regrow organs and fractured shells, but turtle growth, like turtle movement, is slow. Also new to me, the book describes turtle to human bonding, a turtle’s special personality and its ability to recognize and connect with friends.

The Turtle Rescue League trains volunteers to dig up turtle nests when spotted near parking lots or on a piece of ground that lies between the nest and a pond and replant the nests near healthy water. Turtles are often crushed by cars and trucks in the process of crossing highways. If you see a wounded turtle, stop and take it to a turtle healer or veterinarian. As the book says, “if you save a turtle, particularly a female turtle, she may be able to lay eggs for another hundred years.”

Of Time and Turtles opens new visions of the past, present and future.