Sightings Extraordinary Encounters with Ordinary Birds
By Sam Keen
Illustrations by Mary Woodin
Sam Keen, the New York Times best-selling author of Fire in the Belly, has spent a lifetime reflecting on nature. In Sightings, a collection of essays, bird watching forms the basis for observations spiritual and soulful, witty and wise. He describes his childhood ramblings in the silence of the Tennessee wilderness as feeling distinctly more spiritual than the hard pews of his grandmother's church. Later in life, the presumed extinction and subsequent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker prompts a meditation on the nature of the sacred. Blessed with moments of beauty and the insight to recognize them as such, Keen translates the marvels of nature into the language of heart and soul.
Sam Keen, a former professor of philosophy and religion, and past editor of Psychology Today, is a lecturer and consultant. His work was featured in the PBS special, Bill Moyers: Your Mythic Journey with Sam Keen. He lives in Sonoma, California.
Mary Woodin is a UK-based illustrator.
Quotes
Reading this book is like walking down a winding path; one never knows what's around the bend—a succulent blueberry, a rattlesnake? Be prepared for continual surprises: wisdom, beauty, sometimes a burst of mirth. You will enjoy the depth of its reflections on life, youth, death, and nature. Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions
2007 / 120 pp / Full Color Illustrations Throughout/ 0811859762 / hc / $14.95