Nature writer and advocate Susan Cerulean’s newest book, "I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird: A Daughter’s Memoir" (University of Georgia Press, 2020) arrived on shelves Aug. 1.
A prolific and respected author, Cerulean is based in Tallahassee. Cerulean is the author of "Coming to Pass: Florida’s Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change," which won a Florida Book Award gold medal. "Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-Tailed Kites" was named an Editors’ Choice title by Audubon Magazine. Cerulean is a founding member and former director of the Red Hills Writers Project and a past-president of the Friends of St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge.
If one were to describe this book using only one word, it would be poignant. In this volume, Cerulean’s focus is on the fragility of life, both human and wild. Her beloved father was slowly dying in a nursing facility and her son David left for college. At the same time, Florida’s wild places, both flora, and fauna, were disappearing before her eyes. Cerulean felt some action was required of her, both body and soul. It wasn’t an easy journey to take, but grief never is.
Cerulean took on the Herculean task many caregivers face – that of watching over a loved one whose mind is decaying day by day. She was a wife and mother, a scientist, and writer; but on that journey, she was a child making the transition to an adult caregiver.
She tells her story in gut-wrenching terms at times, showing us clearly the ravages loss perpetuates on adult children. Luckily, she wasn’t alone. Jeff, her husband and fellow explorer, and their son walked with her, but ultimately, a pair of binoculars, a floppy hat, and a notepad provided balance in turmoil.
An intrepid adventurer unafraid to do whatever it took to record bird sightings and discover habitats, risking life and limb to do it, Cerulean realized something was building inside her. “So I began, watching birds at Bald Point, swimming in the Ochlockonee River, kayaking on Buckhorn Creek, taking notes, listening for direction.”
When it came, after watching the rhythms of the Gulf’s foamy tides under limitless skies, she found her path. While she couldn’t stop her father’s passage nor halt the disappearance of coastal habitats or the wildlife they support, she could be with them, record their presence, make a record of it all, and speak to impending loss.
When Cerulean’s father died, he left behind a daughter who cared for the earth the way he cared for her, with no reservations. She is the watcher unafraid to hold life in her capable hands, never wavering in the task. In these pages, you’ll find courage and strength comes from living with this planet, not on it.
Saundra Kelley is a member of Tallahassee Writers Association and is a master storyteller. Her books include Southern Appalachian Storytellers: Interviews with Sixteen Keepers of the Oral Tradition, Danger in Blackwater Swamp, and The Day the Mirror Cried. Contact her at https://ift.tt/34okyew
Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat.
"bird" - Google News
August 22, 2020 at 11:04PM
https://ift.tt/3ggHf6t
Poignant 'Single Bird' navigates fragility of life | Book Review - Tallahassee Democrat
"bird" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2s1zYEq
https://ift.tt/3dbExxU
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Poignant 'Single Bird' navigates fragility of life | Book Review - Tallahassee Democrat"
Post a Comment