TURNING TO BIRDS: The Power and Beauty of Noticing, inspiring readers to mindfulness practice

TURNING TO BIRDS: The Power and Beauty of Noticing
LILI TAYLOR
Crown Publishing (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$1.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Accessible essays about searching for peace in the cacophony of birds and discovering a world of meaning in small moments—from award-winning actress Lili Taylor.

Most people don’t really know birds—or rather, they aren’t aware of them. Lili Taylor used to be one of those people. She knew birds existed. She thought about them, maybe even more than the average person. But she didn’t know them. And then something happened.

During a break from her work as an actor, Lili sought silence and instead found the bustling, symphonic world of birds that had always existed around her. Since then, she has kept a keen eye pressed to her binoculars in search of vivid stories that elevate the everyday, if only one pays attention.

Through a series of beautifully crafted essays, Taylor shares her intimate encounters with the birds that have captured her heart and imagination—from tracking flitting Zorros through oak trees to spotting majestic Bluejays perched on a Manhattan fire escape; from the exhilaration of chasing a migratory flock up the Empire State Building to the quiet joy of observing a nest of hatchlings in her own backyard.Through simply paying attention to birds, Lili has been shown a parallel world that is wider and deeper, one of constant change and movement, full of life and the will to survive.

This book is part-memoir, part-love letter to the beauty and resilience of the natural world—a reminder of the profound connections that exist between all living things. Taylor's lyrical prose and thoughtful meditations on both the art we make and the art we discover around us create a sense of intimacy and wonder, inviting readers to see the world through new eyes and to find joy in the most unexpected places.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Essays are tricky to recommend...they depend so much on how something is said, but possibly even more on who's saying it; never, of course, forgetting the all-important what the essays are about. These essays succeed, for this reader, at least in part because Author Taylor is an indie-film darling with a very clear body of work behind her, thus has solid credibility; and also stays busy by acting in shows like Outer Range and the Lincoln's assassination series Manhunt as Mrs. Lincoln.

In the midst of that, and raising a child, she's been active in conservation organizations like the Audubon Society...her work for them, her work life, her busy-ness, led her to seek time to spend enjoying the natural world she was working to protect.

Birding offered a way to do that while still working. Bird census, anyone? This collection is clearly by a deeply committed person, one with a lot of integrity, who does not simply sit and wait for things to change but stands up and gets into the fray.

The humor, the anecdotes, offer her acting-life fans the little jolts of familiarity that make books by celebrities so appealing. Those who came for the Mystic Pizza or the I Shot Andy Warhol girl will feel satisfied catching up to her; those who love her TV work will too. Both can get their fixes with a side of gentle encouragement to seek solace in the unhuman world we exist inside but so seldom look around at. The birding is a joy to her, it feels as though she's telling us her secret to long life abnd happiness (she's younger than I am, so I hope it works but won't be around to find out).

A novice birder's delight; a celebrity-follower's browsing garden; an example of how to be multifaceted in a world that would prefer you do one thing and shut up about everything else. What it isn't is a how-to, or a guide to the world of birding. It's meditating on the benefits of time in nature, not giving a how-to. Organizing the book by species watched with the whys and the hows of that moment in her life made me feel I was along with her...woodcocks, bluebirds, those awful house sparrows...and what happened while she was doing the watching...well, it worked for me.

As a reminder to seek a mindfulness practice, all five stars; as a birding book, four and three-quarters...but as a celebrity tell-all, three stars. Hence my weighted average of four and a half stars and a smile.