Roots & the Awakening
Born in 1974 and raised partly on the road by a travelling preacher father, Julia Hill was a young Arkansas woman with no activist background — until a near-fatal 1996 car crash and a long recovery made her reconsider her life and led her, in 1997, to the ancient redwoods of California.
Part of Julia Butterfly Hill
3 moments in this segment.
- — Born Julia Lorraine Hill (1974). Julia Lorraine Hill is born in Mount Vernon, Missouri, the daughter of a travelling evangelist; much of her childhood is spent on the road. Her nickname "Butterfly" comes from a butterfly that landed on her as a child. The subject dates from 1974; this photograph was taken in 2006.
- — The car crash & the awakening (1996). A drunk driver rear-ends Julia’s car; the steering wheel lodges in her skull and recovery takes nearly a year. The brush with death makes her re-examine her life and its purpose. The subject dates from 1996; this photograph was taken in 2009.
- — First sight of the redwoods (1997). On a journey west, Julia walks into an ancient redwood grove for the first time and is overwhelmed — describing it as walking into a cathedral. She decides to give herself to protecting them. The subject dates from 1997; this photograph was taken in 2014.
