BELFAST — Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to meet naturalist Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award Finalist, and wildlife artist Matt Patterson on Thursday, Sept. 28, beginning at 5:30 p.m., for a talk and book signing at the shop. Montgomery and Patterson will be celebrating their just-released book, Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell, a moving account of their work with the Turtle Rescue League of Southbridge, Massachusetts.

At the wildlife center, Montgomery and Patterson encounter hundreds of turtles recovering from injury and illness. Endangered by cars and highways, pollution and poachers, these turtles — with wounds so severe that even veterinarians would have dismissed them as fatal — are given a second chance at life. The League’s founders live by one motto: never give up on a turtle. But why turtles? What is it about them that inspires such devotion? Montgomery turns to these little understood yet endlessly surprising creatures to probe the eternal question: How can we make peace with our time?

In pursuit of an answer, Montgomery and Patterson immerse themselves in the delicate work of protecting turtle nests, incubating eggs, rescuing sea turtles, and releasing hatchlings to their homes in the wild. Readers follow the snapping turtle “Fire Chief” on his astonishing journey as he battles against injuries incurred by a truck.

“Hopeful and optimistic, Of Time and Turtles elegantly blends science, memoir, and philosophy,” said Left Bank, in a news release. “The beautiful book draws on cultures from across the globe to paint a compassionate portrait of injured turtles as their determined rescuers invite us all to slow down and slip into turtle time.”

Montgomery is the author of more than thirty books including The Soul of an Octopus, The Hawk’s Way, The Hummingbirds’ Gift, and the international bestseller Good Good Pig, her memoir of life with her pig, Christopher Hogwood. She has been hailed “Equal parts poet and scientist” by The New York Times and “Part Indiana Jones and part Emily Dickinson” by The Boston Globe. She’s been featured on CSB Sunday Morning, is a regular guest on Boston Public Radio’s “The Afternoon Zoo,” and is a book reviewer for The New York Times and The American Scholar.

Reservations for this free event are strongly recommended, according to Left Bank, by calling 207-338-9009 or emailing: info@leftbankbookshop.com. Ample free parking is available in front of the shop and in an adjacent public parking lot.