The Lovesongs of Birds

A heartfelt collection of illustrated poetry that is part memoir, part nature-writing, and part philosophical musing, The Lovesongs of Birds is a beautiful and childlike examination of grief and the way it changes us. Following the loss of her mother, a young woman begins to rediscover joy and play through her encounters with the birds and natural world around her as she travels across California and eventually makes her way to New York. While the story is at times despairing or melancholic, it is at other times funny and biting, even silly and playful. There is a strong current throughout of a firm and willful grasping at hope and optimism, an insistence that life is meaningful even in the face of death.A beautiful coming-of-age story about love, loss, and healing, this book is the perfect gift for anyone who needs to be reminded of the simple joys that can be found all around them if only they are willing to look.